Myanmar's economy is forecast to grow only 1% in the fiscal year that ends in March, the World Bank says, as conditions deteriorate with an escalation in fighting between the military and its opponents that has newly displaced more than 500,000 people, the Associated Press reported. Intensified fighting near Myanmar's border with China has blocked trade routes, causing shortages of food and other necessities and worsening inflation that was already near 30%, the World Bank said in a report Tuesday.
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New restrictions on U.S. dollars introduced last week by the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) have come as a crippling blow to businesses already struggling in an economic recession resulting from post-coup political turmoil and the COVID-19 pandemic, The Irrawaddy reported. The new restrictions saw the bank revoking the exemption from mandatory currency conversion given to companies with a minimum 10 percent foreign ownership.

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