(Reuters) – For Jeff Immelt, the CEO of General Electric (GE.N), the 130 year-old American industrial behemoth, the financial crisis marked the end of the age of America’s economic dominance.

This blogger has noticed that there seems to be a level of pessimism regarding the American economy. Although it is currently going through economic turbulence, and has been for a while, the US economy, in this blogger’s opinion; remains one of best countries in the world for trade and economic activity. Those doing business in the USA may enjoy the benefits that come from the American financial, economic, and physical infrastructure. Hopefully, the optimism for which America has, in the past, been noted for will return once the economy returns to an “even keel”. Reuters continues:

But Mr. Immelt said the future will be different. For the next 25 years, he said, the American consumer “is not going to be the engine of global growth. It is going to be the billion people joining the middle class in Asia, it is going to be what the resource-rich countries do with their newfound wealth of high oil prices. That’s the game.”

A lot of that game will be played in China. At a moment when it is compulsory on the American right to pay homage to the exceptionalism of the United States, Mr. Immelt, a lifelong Republican, is matter-of-fact about China’s inevitable rise.

The interesting piece of information that this blogger noted in the aforementioned article was the fact that the G.E. CEO took notice of the fact that the middle class is growing rapidly in Asia. The thought of an Asian middle class numbering 1 billion or more is truly staggering when one takes into account the economic impact of such growth. As Asians in general become more affluent the side effects will likely be increased trade and economic activity as these newly minted members of the middle class use their new found wealth to make purchases of property, goods, and services (in Asia, the EU, UK, and the United States). The most poignant line of this Reuters article, in this blogger’s opinion was:

“It is going to be the biggest economy in the world,” Mr. Immelt said of China. “The only question is when.”

There is little doubt that China has an incredible capacity for growth and those looking international investment or business opportunities are well advised to research the Chinese market. That said, China does not represent the only country in Asia which has economic opportunities that are becoming more readily available to investors and entrepreneurs due to globalization. The Kingdom of Thailand, a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has investment opportunities in the form of Thai Property, Thai Real Estate, and Thai businesses. Furthermore, for Americans conducting business in Thailand can prove profitable especially since the US-Thai Treaty of Amity allows Americans to own virtually 100% of a Thai Company with Amity Treaty certification (sometimes referred to as an Amity Company).

Meanwhile, the landlocked country of Laos recently opened a Lao Securities Exchange in an effort to raise capital through equity investment. The Kingdom of Cambodia recently announced that a Cambodian Stock Exchange is to be unveiled in mid-2011 while recent reports have noted that Burmese officials hope to be in the process of creating a Myanmar Stock Exchange as well. Such developments remain to be fully realized, but such examples clearly indicate that Mainland China is not the only “game in town” when it comes to investment opportunities and economic growth in Asia.

For related information please see: US Company Registration.

An informal meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has called for the lifting of economic sanctions against the military regime of Myanmar.

The meeting, held on the Indonesian island of Lombok, made the call citing “significant” political progress made in the south-east Asian country.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, whose country holds the rotating chair of the ten-nation organization, told reporters: “We believe that the recent development needs to be responded by the international community, especially in order to ensure that the economic development in Myanmar can take place.”

He says ASEAN Ministers feel that the recent long-awaited Myanmar elections, which he described as “conducive and transparent, and the release of Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi warranted a positive international response.

The lifting of the sanctions against Myanmar still remains to be seen, but in the wake of the announcement from ASEAN the Straits Times official website is reporting that authorities in Myanmar are taking steps toward creating a stock exchange in Myanmar. To quote directly from the Straits Times website StraitsTimes.com:

BANGKOK – MYANMAR is in talks with South Korea’s bourse operator about opening a stock market, the latest in a series of steps by its military rulers aimed at drawing much-needed foreign capital to the country.

Korea Exchange is already involved in running the newly opened Laos Securities Exchange and is setting up a long-delayed stock market in Cambodia, which is due to open in July. Both are joint ventures with the respective governments.

In previous postings on this blog, the administration has discussed the unveiling of a Stock Exchange in Laos and the announcement that a Cambodian Securities Exchange is set to be opened in mid-2011. In the case of Myanmar, it would appear as though any plans for the eventual creation of a Myanmar securities exchange are still tentative as can be gathered from a further quote in the Straits Times posting:

A spokesman for Korea Exchange in Seoul said representatives had visited Myanmar twice. ‘But nothing has been decided,’ the official said.

Although the opening of a Myanmar Securities Exchange is not a foregone conclusion, there are many who can cite the myriad economic benefits that would accrue as a result of such a step. Furthermore, there are those who would argue that creation of economic opportunities in Myanmar would be beneficial for all Citizens of Myanmar based upon a sort of “rising tide raises all ships” logic. To quote further from the Straits Times:

Myanmar is rich in natural resources but its development has been held back by five decades of economic mismanagement under military dictators and by Western sanctions.

But reforms are under way. The authorities have privatised hundreds of state assets in the past year and are seeking to expand the banking, telecommunications, shipping and agricultural sectors. — REUTERS

Myanmar is truly a cornucopia of natural resources and economic opportunity, but at the time of this writing many nations, including the United States of America, have sanctions against this Southeast Asian nation which prohibit certain forms of commercial activity. There are some who argue that such sanctions actually exacerbate the plight of impoverished Myanmar Citizens. Such an argument generally postulates that easing of foreign trade restrictions, and the economic benefits which would likely arise from such a state of affairs, would accrue to the benefit of many of the market actors in Myanmar, many of whom live in poverty. Under such a theory, economic benefits would not necessarily exclusively accrue to the upper echelon of Myanmar as the less affluent would likely benefit, albeit indirectly, from the infusion of foreign capital, trade goods, intellectual property, and the further economic activity arising therefrom.

Even though a securities exchange in Myanmar may be merely in the discussion phase and is a long way from being created, those interested in doing business in Myanmar, or any other country in Southeast Asia, should take note of the information above as there are many who would argue that Myanmar will likely play a critical role in regional and global economics as well as trade.

For related information please see: US Company Registration, US Visa Myanmar, or Laos Securities Exchange.