Myanmar is allowing companies to challenge a bid from China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) for the New Yangon City Project as a way to demonstrate transparency and balance relations with the US and China. This comes after the US Department of Commerce blacklisted an additional 24 Chinese state-owned companies for their roles in assisting the Chinese Communist Party “militarise outposts” in the contested South China Sea.
In an interview with SCMP, Associate Professor Simon Tay, Chairman of the SIIA, questions how much Myanmar is able to push back on the CCCC offer. “Myanmar needs investment. New Yangon City is a very ambitious project, it’s huge. It’s not a national plan and it’s primarily driven by Yangon, so they have to find someone with gumption and deep pockets to invest”, according to Prof. Tay.
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