RANGOON — Burma's roads were once a strange
showcase for extremely expensive, decades-old cars kept running through
home-grown ingenuity. But in recent years economic reforms have
drastically changed the car market.
Taxi driver U Win Naing just paid a little more than $6,000 for this
Japanese import. It might seem like a lot for a 1988 Nissan Sunny, but
he feels like he got a great deal.
“We’re in a period when the car prices are dropping so I’m happy," he
said. "The government is now doing a good job. As the country
progresses, these older cars should not be on the road any longer."
Just six years ago, a 20-year-old Japanese car would have cost around
$100,000. Junkyard-ready vehicles were kept on the roads because the
government restricted imports, making those already in the country
extremely valuable.
Cars and other luxury items were once available only to corrupt military
officials, said Ko Soe Moe, one of about 2,000 freelance car brokers in
Rangoon who may soon be out of a job.
“The combined cost of the permission ticket and the value of the new car
was around $400,000, so only the highest class of the country could
afford," Moe said. Generals and their inner circles only could do
it.There is no such thing as a car lot like these or a car dealer broker
like me in other countries. Business like this is only going on where
there are no real showrooms.”
Deregulating the market has instead opened
up business opportunities for people like Nyi Nyi, who makes a living
doing custom upgrades of Burma’s new car enthusiasts.
“Yea, there’s a group of people who are very much into cars, a lot of
car enthusiasts, and that community is growing as days go by," he said.
“Before it was totally different. Burma is only one of the very few
countries when you buy a car the price can appreciate, the value will
appreciate and you actually invest in it, you can get a profit from
buying a car and selling it back.
Rangoon-based economist Khin Maung Nyo said with car prices falling
because of looser import controls, Burmese are no longer buying them as
long-term investments.
“The car market is part of the property market, or part of the asset
market, now speculation moved from car market to real estate," said Nyo.
In gridlocked Rangoon, it's a sign that reform is on the road in Burma.
Burma's Economic Reforms Alter Car Market
Author : Unknown ~ Blog Si Onces
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