ETC SINGAPORE: Secures $10.6m Huawei Tech residential lease contract in Myanmar

Golden City is Emerging Towns & Cities Singapore's luxury mixed-use development in Yangon's neighborhood for 5-star hotels, international schools, hospitals, and MNC HQs. Photo: Company Demand for Catalist-listed Emerging Towns & Cities Singapore’s (ETC SG) property project in Yangon is going strong, thanks to Myanmar’s rapid development. ETC SG has secured a contract worth S$10.6 million (US$7.7 million) to lease 147 residential apartments from the Group’s Golden City project for 3 years to Huawei Technologies (Yangon). When the Chinese information and communications technology (ICT) behemoth went into Myanmar in 2014, mobile phone penetration rate in the Southeast Asian emerging economy was only 7.8%. Today, it is over 100%, with 56.8 million mobile phone users in a population of 54 million. Myanmar’s telecommunications sector is projected to grow another 15% and its economy 7.6% in the fiscal year ending 30 September 2019, according to its National Planning Bill.

Located in the affluent Yankin Township of Yangon, Myanmar, demand for residential apartments at Golden City is riding on the growth of Myanmar’s economy. Despite prohibitive interest rates and reports of human rights violations threatening the stream of foreign direct investments, The Myanmar Times has identified the following growth drivers in the year ahead:

"Our lease agreement with an MNC like Huawei validates the quality of our project. The win supports our strategy to complement short-term development profits with long-term recurring income." -- Tan Thiam Hee Group CEO ETC Singapore (NextInsight file photo)

1. Banking
   The number of bank account holders has been on the rise, led by improvements in digital banking infrastructure enabling card payments, e-banking and more recently, mobile wallets.
   
   
2. Retail
   Demand for shopping malls of 50,000 square meters and above are rising in demand (according to Colliers International Myanmar) after Myanmar's Ministry of Commerce authorized full foreign investments in the retail sector in May 2018.
   
   Interest in condominium projects featuring retail options has also been on the rise.
   
   Wholesalers and retailers from Japan, Thailand and South Korea that are actively seeking opportunities in Myanmar include Japanese retailer Aeon Co, which already runs a supermarket in South Okkalapa, Yangon under a local JV.
   
   
3. Education
   Interest from educational service providers in Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand have been on the rise after its education sector was liberalized in April 2018. Kaplan Myanmar University College, a subsidiary of US educational program provider Kaplan Inc, opened its campus in Yangon in June 2018.
   
   
4. Apparel
   Last year, 65 new garment factories were opened in Myanmar. The government projects annual growth of 35% for this sector.
   
   
5. Oil & Gas
   Around 20 oil majors including PTTEP, ENI, Daewoo and Woodside will commence seismic surveys and exploratory drilling in more than 20 onshore and offshore blocks in the fiscal year 2019.