Myanmar's Central Bank has a total of $7.6 billion of foreign exchange reserves held offshore by private and Burmese state-owned banks to "use when needed," according to a report by The Irrawady.

In a press conference in Naypyidaw on 4 October 2013, Kyaw Kyaw Maung, central bank chairman, reportedly confirmed talks that the government is holding funds in offshore locations but corrected rumours that it involved $11 billion. The chairman also reportedly did not specify in which offshore locations and banks the Burmese money are held or how much of these are government-owned and in private company hands.

"We only keep $7.6 billion [abroad] legally," he was quoted as saying. "We use it when needed. We don't know about the $11 billion that people are talking about."

The statement is related to an interview The Irrawady had with Jelson Garcia, the Asia programme manager with the Banking Information Center, in September 2013. Garcia had said that the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and International Monetary Fund officials informed him that the Burmese government held as much as $11 billion in a number of Singaporean bank accounts. 

BIC is a US-based non-profit organisation that monitors international financial institutions. ADB and the World Bank had recently re-engaged with Burma after President Thein Sein announced new efforts toward political and economic reforms.