Aung San Suu Kyi's administration and her party have been trying to resume Myanmar's status as Asia's growth story since the leader took office almost two years ago. Although the World Bank has called the country's overall economy "stable", data from the International Monetary Fund showed that its GDP growth in 2017, slowed to five-point-nine percent. But the organization also estimated a rebound to six-point-seven percent this year.

Myanmar's average annual income per capita is just over one thousand US dollars, which means roughly 37 percent of the country's population are living near or below the poverty line.  To deal with the issue, Myanmar is set to raise the minimum wage to around three-point-six dollars a day. The new daily figure represents a 33 percent increase on Myanmar's first-ever minimum wage introduced in 2015. But critics say the national raise may not be a wise decision when it comes to attracting investment. Myanmar's current competitiveness comes largely from its low cost of labor.