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Tag: Myanmar

  • Toyota To Build New Plant In Myanmar

    Toyota To Build New Plant In Myanmar

    Toyota Motor Corporation will be building its first vehicle production company in Myanmar where it will locally produce the Hilux from February 2021. The announcement comes after other carmakers like Suzuki, Nissan and Ford established factories in the country. The automotive market in Myanmar has soared in accordance with the growth of the economy.

    The demand for new vehicles has soared in recent years (2018 market: approx. 18,000 units) more than twice the size compared to the previous year. The government introduced auto import restrictions in 2017, and a fall in prices has seen the auto market grow, with many new vehicles built locally. Toyota currently sells the Hilux, Vios, Rush, and other vehicles in Myanmar by relying on imports.

    Toyota plans to construct the new plant in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone, situated in the southern suburbs of Yangon city. The company is expected to investment approximately $52.6 million. Toyota plans to hire 130 new employees, and intends to build 2,500 Hilux vehicles per year using the SKD (semi knock-down) method when operations begin in 2021. The brand is already popular in the country, though most of its cars on the road are second-hand models.

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  • Telenor Myanmar signs partnership with TikTok

    Telenor Myanmar signs partnership with TikTok

    Telenor Myanmar has become the market’s first official partner for short-form video sharing platform TikTok, and introduced a new mobile data plan to support the partnership.

    The operator has introduced the new Sate Kyite Kyi plan, which will offer mobile video content from TikTok and Myanmar’s other most popular video apps – including YouTube, Viu and MyanFlix – at a rate of 1 kyat ($0.00065) per megabyte.

    Users will be able to subscribe to the plan over SMS, via the MyTelenor app or WowBox content platform with subscription fees of 499 kyats per week. The plan will not be auto-renewed and must be resubscribed to at the end of each week of service.

    “We are very excited to become the first official local partner of TikTok in Myanmar. Sate Kyite Kyi is the very first result of the agreement between us and the top video apps and we are delighted to add TikTok to our partners’ list for this innovative data plan,” Telenor Myanmar head of digital services Chan May Ling said.

    “It will be the one of a kind data plans in Myanmar, providing users with a one-stop shop solution where they can enjoy all of their favorite videos. As you all know, Telenor Myanmar has been offering the best and most affordable products and services since its inception in Myanmar to ease users’ daily lives and we promise that we will come up with many more innovative services from this partnership.”

  • KDDI, Sumitomo to enter Myanmar mobile game market

    KDDI, Sumitomo to enter Myanmar mobile game market

    Japanese operator KDDI and conglomerate Sumitomo have revealed plans to jointly enter Myanmar’s mobile game industry through newly created joint venture Funcreate Myanmar.

    Funcreate Myanmar, a subsidiary of the companies’ Singapore-based joint venture Funcreate, will localize and distribute mobile games from Japan and other countries throughout Myanmar.

    Funcreate was established in November last year and has been a joint venture since April. It is 51% owned by KDDI and 49% owned by Sumitomo.

    The companies aim to attract more than 1 million downloads for each game title offered. Myanmar’s mobile games market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 52% due to the nation’s rapidly developing mobile phone market.

    KDDI has meanwhile established a strategic partnership with Singapore-based mobile game service provider goGame to take advantage of the latter’s expertise in game procurement, development, operation and marketing for the Asian market.

    Sumitomo, which launched a mobile game sales operation in North America in 2018, will meanwhile provide strategic marketing proposals for the new mobile game business operation, tailored to the Myanmar market.

    KDDI and Sumitomo were selected in 2014 to partner with state-owned Myanmar Posts and Telecom to operate a joint venture providing fixed and mobile services in the rapidly developing local telecoms market.

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  • Rajeev Sethi takes helm at Ooredoo Myanmar

    Rajeev Sethi takes helm at Ooredoo Myanmar

    Qatar-based Ooredoo Group has appointed Rajeev Sethi (pictured) as chief executive officer of Ooredoo Myanmar.

    He succeeds Vikram Sinha, who continues to stay on as a member of the company’s board.

    Sethi joins Ooredoo Myanmar from Airtel Africa, where he served most recently as chief commercial officer.

    He comes with over 24 years of work experience, of which 15 have been in the telecoms industry, holding leadership roles in multinational companies including Grameenphone in Bangladesh, Uninor India, Vodafone India, Hewlett Packard and Hutchison Telecom.

    Equinix has appointed Yee May Leong as managing director of South Asia to lead the company’s business strategy in Singapore and Indonesia.

    Leong is based in Singapore and reports directly to Samuel Lee, president of Equinix Asia-Pacific.

    Leong brings to the table with over 30 years of experience in the ICT sector.

    Prior to joining Equinix, Leong served as vice president of the communications sector for IBM in Asia-Pacific, overseeing the company’s strategic business development in ASEAN, Australia, India, Korea and New Zealand.

    Prior to that, she has also held senior management positions in leading technology companies including IBM, Lotus, F5 Networks and Orange Business Services.

  • Ooredoo Myanmar signs 5G agreement with ZTE

    Ooredoo Myanmar signs 5G agreement with ZTE

    Ooredoo Myanmar has signed an agreement with ZTE to collaborate on 5G network deployment as part of the operator’s network modernization program.

    The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding that will cover Ooredoo Myanmar’s 5G evolution from trials through to commercial deployment.

    During the first stage of the partnership, Ooredoo Myanmar and ZTE will evaluate potential test environments for Ooredoo’s 5G network. The network tests will be used to evaluate the performance of the 5G network ahead of commercial deployments.

    “It is a great pleasure to announce our MOU with ZTE Corporation, one of the leaders in advanced telecommunications technology,” Ooredoo Myanmar acting CEO Alok Verma said.

    “Ooredoo is the first telecom operator in Myanmar to launch initiatives towards 5G development, recognizing the potential of 5G, which will unlock the next generation of wireless technology with high speeds, ultra-low latency and greater capacities, unleashing new possibilities in mobility, manufacturing, healthcare, transportation and several other industries.”

    Ooredoo Myanmar’s parent company Ooredoo launched what it claims as the first live 5G network in Qatar during May last year. The company plans to arrange more 5G trials and commercial launches across its operating companies around the world over the next few months.

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  • Aeon opens first Supermarket in Myanmar

    Aeon opens first Supermarket in Myanmar

    Japanese retailer and mall operator Aeon has launched its first hypermarket in Myanmar.

    The 2800sqm store is triple the size of its 14 existing supermarkets in Southeast Asia and its first hypermarket in the region. Opened in the capital city of Yangon, it sells household items as well as food. It also features a microfinancing service for shoppers.

    The move is a response to the growing retail sector in Myanmar, which Aeon has been pursuing since its 2016 joint venture with local partner Creation Myanmar Group.

    The hypermarket includes a large home-appliance sales space and a 70sqm dining area.

    “There is further room to increase the number of stores in Myanmar as the country is still short of modern retail space,” said Aeon Orange’s GM of administration Masayasu Isozaki.

    Aeon currently operates 74 stores in Southeast Asia, with shopping malls and supermarkets in Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam.

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  • Telenor Myanmar expanding reach of LTE network

    Telenor Myanmar expanding reach of LTE network

    Telenor Myanmar has announced it has nearly reached 100% of the nation’s townships with its LTE network, having rolled out over 6,100 LTE sites nationwide.

    The company’s LTE network now covers 307 townships, with the company having expanded to seven more townships during the first quarter.

    “Since the first quarter, the company has deployed 856 additional sites and aims to increase this to more than 1,100 by the end of the month,” according to Telenor Myanmar CTO Jai Prakash.

    “As per our commitment to bring the best possible things for Myanmar citizens, we have achieved our ambitious goal of establishing a network with 6100+ LTE sites in 2019,” he said.

    “We will keep upgrading our network for our customers with our best data network and also educating the population on how to use our service effectively and efficiently.”

    Meanwhile the operator has been working with Ericsson to prepare its network for 5G, having conducted a joint trial last year achieving 1Gbps downlink rates over its LTE network.

    In late November, the companies also commenced a pilot study involving the provision of IoT connectivity in Mandalay City.

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  • Telenor Myanmar extends non-stop roaming to Malaysia, Singapore

    Telenor Myanmar extends non-stop roaming to Malaysia, Singapore

    Telenor Myanmar has expanded its unlimited international data roaming service to Malaysia and Singapore, one month after the launch of the new service in Thailand.

    The company’s non-stop data roaming pack offers unlimited data in the three international markets for total fees of 999 kyats ($0.65) for three days of service. Speeds are uncapped for the first 1GB per day, and then shaped to 512kbps.

    Prepaid and postpaid customers can activate the service on the MyTelenor APP, sending a message to a dedicated number, or dialing a different number.

    “We are amazed by the support we have seen on our latest roaming product for visitors to Thailand. So we decided to extend this popular service to Malaysia and Singapore which we know as the other two most frequently visited countries in Southeast Asia,” Telenor Myanmar CMO Amaresh Kumar said.

    “We have made international roaming affordable for everyone and we welcome our customers to experience the only worry-free data roaming packs that users can get in Myanmar.”

    Thanks to the connections of parent company Telenor from Norway, Telenor Myanmar now offers roaming services with 171 partner operators in 125 countries, with its 4G roaming service currently available in China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, UAE, Canada, Macau, Taiwan, New Zealand, Sweden, Belgium and Norway.

    Meanwhile subscribers to 227 operators from 134 countries can use their overseas SIMs with the Telenor network in Myanmar.

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  • Metro Myanmar launches with brand new warehouse

    Metro Myanmar launches with brand new warehouse

    The launch of Metro Myanmar business marks the German wholesaler’s 36th international market.

    The company has announced a warehouse in Yangon, aiming to serve local professional customers in the fast-growing hospitality and tourism sectors.

    “The food wholesale industry in Myanmar offers big potentials for Metro,” said the firm’s COO and management board member Philippe Palazzi, “and we believe our engagement in the trade sector will contribute to the local economic growth including the agriculture, tourism and hospitality sectors, and help upgrade the food wholesale infrastructure sustainably for the local community.”

    As distinct from its operations in other countries, Metro Myanmar will not run wholesale stores but provide a virtual shopping experience for customers through its e-commerce and delivery systems.

    Central to the wholesale operations in Myanmar is the 5800sqm warehouse situated in Thilawa Special Economic Zone outside Yangon. It is a modern logistics facility where incoming goods are received, stored, processed and packed in compliance with stringent quality and food safety standards for delivery to customers.

    Now right at the start of its operations, Metro Myanmar is already serving about 300 customers across the country that can now select from an assortment of more than 2000 food and non-food products. Customers place orders digitally through Metro’s website and mobile app, and the delivery is carried out with a fleet of modern temperature-controlled trucks.

    With local sourcing and food safety improvement a top priority for the country, the firm has been making continuous efforts to build up strong partnerships with local producers. These engagements include training as well as knowledge and expertise transfer for food suppliers and farmers across different regions and states in Myanmar. Over 90 per cent of the current workforce at Metro Myanmar, which is about 150 employees, is staffed by local talent.

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  • Vinamilk to open plant in Myanmar, its 2nd in Southeast Asia

    Vinamilk to open plant in Myanmar, its 2nd in Southeast Asia

    Vietnam’s biggest dairy company plans to open a plant in Myanmar this year and is preparing to enter Indonesia and China. The Myanmar factory will be Vinamilk’s second in Southeast Asia after acquiring its first in Cambodia. It is in discussion for one joint venture in Indonesia. Myanmar is one of Vinamilk’s strategic markets to offset declining revenues in the Iraqi market, which once accounted for 60 percent of its exports. In 2017, Vinamilk reported falling exports for the first time in 20 years due to political tensions in the Middle East.

    In the latest year for which export figures are available, 2017, it shipped products worth VND7.4 trillion ($312 million), a 4.2 percent decline from the previous year.

    The company is also preparing to enter the Chinese market later this year. Chinese authorities are expected to sign a draft protocol in April this year allowing Vietnamese dairy products to be exported.

    Vinamilk is planning a change in export strategy.

    “The company will move from traditional exports to intensive cooperation with distribution partners in new key markets, and gradually build production facilities in potential markets such as Myanmar,” Vinamilk chief executive Mai Kieu Lien told shareholders in 2018.

    She added that the company has set aside $750 million for acquisitions, building new facilities and setting up cattle farms between 2017 and 2021.

    It now has 13 plants and 10 dairy farms in Vietnam, a plant each in the U.S., New Zealand and Cambodia and a subsidiary in Poland.

    In all, it has three wholly-owned foreign subsidiaries: Driftwood Dairy Holding Corporation in the U.S, Angkor Dairy Products Co., Ltd, in Cambodia, and Vinamilk Europe Spo’stkaz Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnoscia in Poland.

    It holds a 22.81 percent stake in a joint venture with Miraka Dairy in New Zealand and has a Thailand-based trading office.

    Last year the company paid $19.74 million to buy a 51 percent stake in Laotian company Lao–Jagro Development Xiengkhouang Co., Ltd, to set up a series of hi-tech beef and dairy farms based on Japanese technology.

    Vinamilk’s products are available in 46 countries and territories, including some demanding markets such as Japan, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

    Last year the company reported profits before tax of VND11.52 trillion ($499.26 million), up 12.05 percent from the previous year, on revenues of VND52.63 trillion ($2.28 billion), down 2.93 percent.

  • Restaurant company expands into Thailand with local Myanmar cuisine

    Restaurant company expands into Thailand with local Myanmar cuisine

    Myanmar restaurant chain Feel International is set to open in Thailand. Opening in the popular Bangkok tourist area of Pratunam on Thursday (January 24), the group intends to introduce Myanmar cuisine to Thai consumers and foreigners. “At present, many restaurants are attempting to cater to the needs of tourists from China, however there are eight flights to Bangkok from Yangon every day, and there are tens of thousands of Myanmar citizens working and studying there, so there is a potential market for Myanmar cuisine”, said Feel International operations director Ko Johnny.

    “This is the very first Myanmar restaurant opened in a foreign capital city. Bangkok is one of the biggest restaurant markets in the world. It offers a wide variety of cuisine, even something as exotic in Asia as Ethiopian. Bangkok is the first step for Myanmar traditional food to penetrate the international markets”, he said.

    The restaurant intends to serve lunch boxes with Myanmar favourites for Myanmar people working in companies and offices around the area.

    Discussions are being held to open further restaurants in Chiang Mai and Mesauk.

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  • Tom n Toms plans Myanmar expansion

    Tom n Toms plans Myanmar expansion

    South Korean Cafe chain Tom n Toms has started to launch outlets in Myanmar. Tom n Toms Myanmar has opened two locations in Yangon so far, at the international airport and the Kantharyar Centre, with a third planned for Yankin Township. Information from Myanmar International Business Alliance Company operation director Aung Sithu Khant revealed a fourth planned outlet at the Secretariat Building in Yangon.

    “Myanmar people and coffee brands have been friendly for a long time,” said Khant.

    “We opened these outlets hoping that Myanmar people can taste a high-quality coffee with reasonable price. Next month, strawberries from south Korea will be selling in Myanmar. We will introduce a menu connecting with strawberries.”

    Khant said the third outlet will be opened soon. Future Tom n Toms cafes are expected to open in Mandalay, Taunggyi, and the capital city, Nay Pyi Taw next year.

    “The main thing is the customer is always first. Therefore, we will pay special attention to coffee and other foodstuffs”.

  • Vietnam’s Viettel seeks to double Myanmar customer base: CEO

    Vietnam’s Viettel seeks to double Myanmar customer base: CEO

    Vietnam’s largest telecommunication company, Viettel, is seeking to double its five million subscribers in Myanmar by the end of the year. Viettel, whose $1.22 billion unit Viettel Global Investment is trading on the Unlisted Public Company Market, has also shown interest in investing in North Korea and Cuba. “The growth seen in Myanmar is rare in the telecom market,” Viettel’s president and chief executive officer Le Dang Dung said on Friday. “We still have room to grow there.”

    Myanmar, where Viettel and its local partners launched a $1.5 billion 4G network in June last year has emerged as one of the most promising markets for the company, Dung said.

    The Mytel network, jointly developed by Myanmar National Holding Public Ltd and Star High Public Co Ltd, has amassed around five million subscribers, a figure which Dung said he expects to double by the end of this year.

    Viettel is also in talks to buy stakes in existing telecommunication firms in Malaysia and Indonesia, Dung said, without giving further details due to the sensitivity of the deals.

    The company will be the first to develop a 5G network in Vietnam, Dung said, in anticipation of rapid development of data services.

    He said Viettel had earmarked $40 million for the development of its own 5G chipset, but was also considering using technology from Ericsson and Nokia.

    The military-run firm, formally known as Viettel Group, has around 60 million subscribers in Vietnam and over 30 million users across 10 other countries – predominantly in Asia and Africa.

    The company is also in talks to buy a 20 percent stake in a European mobile carrier, Dung said, without elaborating.

    Dung said Viettel plans to stop expanding its investment in the African market, however, where the company has struggled to make a profit due to poor economic growth.

    Closer to home, Viettel is looking to invest in North Korea, said Dung, where Koryolink – a joint venture between the North Korean state and Egypt’s Orascom Investment Holdings – has amassed millions of subscribers since its 2008 launch.

    “We first sought permission from North Korea to build a mobile network there in 2010,” he said. “But we’re still waiting for sanctions to be lifted and for the country to open its market to foreign investors.”

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  • Vietnamese platform FastGo expands to Myanmar

    Vietnamese platform FastGo expands to Myanmar

    FastGo, Vietnam’s first ride-hailing service, has kicked off operations in Myanmar as part of its Southeast Asia expansion plans. Its joint venture with Myanmarese conglomerate Asia Sun Group began offering services on December 28. CEO Nguyen Huu Tuat said at the launch that Myanmar is a promising market with the e-commerce, travel and retail sectors all growing rapidly. With a population of 50 million, transport demand in the country is expected to rise, he said.

    FastGo targets major cities and provinces and expects to sign up two million users and 100,000 drivers.

    It pursues the same business model as in Vietnam, only taking a fixed service cost from drivers and not commissions on each ride and guaranteeing them higher fares during rush hour and bad weather.

    It allows users to tip drivers, and offers a priority service for certain customers.

    Tuat said FastGo has tied up with Asia Sun because the group has experience in various sectors, deep pockets and an understanding of the local market and culture.

    He expected the venture to benefit Myanmar’s digital economy.

    FastGo was launched in Vietnam last June and now has over 40,000 partner drivers in 10 provinces and cities.

    It aims to be more than just a ride hailing app, offering other services such as food delivery.

    FastGo Vietnam Joint Stock Company was established in April 2018 with its headquarters in Hanoi. The company belongs to a wide network of services provided by Nextech, a leading tech firm in Vietnam.

    The Nikkei Asian Review reported that the company hopes to make its service available in 20 cities in Vietnam and five other Southeast Asian markets, including the Philippines, Cambodia and Thailand, by the end of 2019.

  • Auntie Anne’s to make debut in Myanmar

    Auntie Anne’s to make debut in Myanmar

    Yoma Strategic and the parent company of pretzel franchise Auntie Anne’s – Focus Brands – are to bring the popular hand-rolled soft pretzel store to Myanmar. Myanmar’s first Auntie Anne’s outlet is scheduled to open in Yangon in the coming months with a more ambitious expansion planned over the next five years.

    Auntie Anne’s recently celebrated 30 years of operations and currently has more than 1800 outlets in 30 countries, including more than 600 locations outside of the US. The brand has established a strong presence in Asia.

    Yoma Strategic CEO Mr. Melvyn Pun said the company was seeing considerable growth in the market for freshly baked goods.

    “While many street vendors do offer traditional Myanmar alternatives, the addition of an iconic international brand will only enrich the local foodscape. It is also a big opportunity for a global brand to come in and offer consumers an exciting new twist on the current offerings in this sector.”

    Yoma F&B’s franchise portfolio also includes KFC and Little Sheep Hotpot. Yoma F&B is targeting the shifting consumption patterns and the rising discretionary disposable income of Myanmar’s expanding middle class, a group forecasted to reach 10 million by 2023.