www.bagan-lodge.com

1. March 20-26, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
mmbiztoday.com March 20-26, 2014 | Vol 2, Issue 12MYANMAR’S FIRST BILINGUAL BUSINESS JOURNAL
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Contd. P 19...
Contd. P 19...Contd. P 6... Contd. P 6...
Investments by $130 Million
Aims to diversify into agriculture, logistics and education sectors
Nwe Zin
S
ingapore-listed Yoma
Strategic Holdings
(YSH) last week an-
nounced its plans for a
massive expansion of its
business interests in My-
anmar in a bid to diversify
its portfolio and income
stream in the frontier mar-
ket of the Southeast Asian
country.
The company, which
mainly deals in real estate
and property, will bolster
its push into Myanmar by
branching out into educa-
ucts, cold storage and
logistics businesses, with
an estimated total invest-
ment of $130 million.
The moves are part of
the company’s push to
lio in Myanmar, Andrew
Rickards, chief executive
of YSH, said at a press
conference in Singapore.
YSH said these devel-
opments are in line with
its “long-term vision and
planning” as it “leverages
on its solid foundation to
develop sectors of My-
anmar’s economy” with
strong potential for future
growth.
Yoma tied up with the
International Finance
Corporation (IFC), the
private sector lending arm
of the World Bank Group,
to secure a debt and eq-
its venture into the agri-
culture and logistics sec-
tors in Myanmar, which
is subject to completion of
IFC’s appraisal, environ-
mental and social impact
assessment.
The company has
formed a new investment
holding company, Yoma
Agricultural & Logistics
Holding Pte Ltd (YALH),
which is intended to hold
the group’s interests in
cold storage and logistics
businesses.
IFC will invest up to 20
percent equity in YALH
with the remaining 80
percent held by Yoma
Strategic Investment Ltd,
a wholly-owned subsidi-
ary of YSH.
YSH signed an agree-
ment with UK-based
ED&F Man Holdings Ltd
(EDFM), an agricultural
commodities trader, to
plant and produce low-
in the group’s plantation
land at the Maw Tin Es-
tate in Ayeyarwaddy divi-
sion of Myanmar.
SMIDB Plans to Lend $21
Phyu Thit Lwin
S
tate-owned Small
and Medium Indus-
trial Bank (SMIDB)
plans to lend K20 billion
($20.6 million) to small
and medium entrepre-
year, starting April 1, of-
The Central Department
of Small and Medium En-
terprises Development
(CDSMED) under the
Ministry of Industry will
administer the loans to
entrepreneurs at 8.5 per-
cent interest rate, CDS-
MED Director Daw Aye
Aye Win said.
Germany’s development
Small and medium enterprises in Myanmar comprise about 90 percent of the Southeast Asian country’s
economy, according to different estimates.
UAung/Xinhua
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2. March 20-26, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
32ENTERTAINMENT
Myanmar to be Awarded World’s
Best Tourist Destination for 2014
M
yanmar will be pre-
sented the award of
World Best Tourist
Destination for 2014 by the Eu-
ropean Union Council on Tour-
ism and Trade (ECTT) soon,
state-run media reported.
The award is aimed at boost-
ing Myanmar’s tourism in-
dustry and promoting tourist
attractions in the country, ac-
cording to the report.
The award is presented based
on ethics for tourism industry,
safety of tourists and preserva-
tion of cultural heritages des-
ignated by the United Nations
Tourism Division, United Na-
and Cultural Organization (UN-
ESCO) and European Union
Council on Tourism and Trade,
according to ECTT website.
The World’s Best Tourist Des-
tination Award, introduced in
2007, is one of the highest ac-
Kyaw Min
colades in the travel and tour-
ism industry in the world, ECTT
claims.
In 2006 a collective of inter-
national specialists in tourism,
tourist education, tourism reg-
ulation experts and academics
from European Union member
countries decided introduce the
development of tourism in non
European Union countries.
ECTT board states: “This
countries that are embracing
tourism as a resource for cul-
tural and social development,
who respect ethics of human
relations and preserve cultural
and natural heritage and ...
must prove their commitment
towards sustainable develop-
ment, fair tourism and histori-
cal preservation.”
“The title should act as a
booster for tourism in that
place but in according with in-
ternational tourism accepted
laws and regulation as decided
by ECTT,” the body said.
Previous winners included
Laos (2013), Trinidad and To-
bago (2012), UAE (2011) and
South Korea (2010).
In the wake of dramatic in-
crease in tourist arrivals, Myan-
mar has planned to introduce
travel insurance services. How-
ever, the number of applicants
is still low.
To enhance development of
its tourism industry, Myanmar
opened four entry and exit gates
on the Myanmar-Thai border in
August last year. Meanwhile,
visa-on-arrival for visitors from
48 countries and regions has
their travel to the country.
In 2013, Myanmar attracted
over 2 million tourists, of whom
1.14 million entered through bor-
der gates and 885,476 through
airports. Myanmar targets 3 mil-
lion tourist arrivals in 2014.
O
ne of Myanmar’s newest
boutique resort Bagan
proximity to one of the world’s
a family package that trades on
a Burmese tradition: the use of
thanaka as a face paint.
The hour-long program is a
component of the new hotel’s
“Family Escape” deal, which
Pann Nu
Pandaw Starts Work On New Vessel
S
ingapore-based river cruise company Pandaw has started
building a new vessel, after the sinking of one of its other
boats late last year.
The Saigon Pandaw was being towed to Myanmar when it sank
To make up for the lost capacity, Pandaw is now working on
a new boat that will be used to ply the waters of Myanmar’s
Chindwin River, the company said.
The Kha Byoo is described as a “river recce vessel”, as it sits
just 75cm in the water, allowing it to explore further upstream
than other boats.
It will join the Kalay Pandaw on the Chindwin River, sailing
seven-night itineraries between Monywa and Homalin. These
trips can also be booked back-to-back with the new Kindat Pan-
daw’s Mandalay-Bhamo routing on the Irrawaddy River.
Measuring 40-metres-long, Kha Byoo will feature an owner’s
state room on the upper deck plus nine other cabins with French
windows that open on to promenades on either side of the ship.
There is also an indoor bar-dining area and outdoor deck.
The new vessel is being designed as a replica of the Irrawaddy
Flotilla Company ship of the same name, which plied the Bur-
mese waterways 100 years ago. Pandaw will be hoping however,
that the new boat has a less dramatic existence than its name-
sake; the original Kha Byoo spent three days caught in a whirl-
pool in the Irrawaddy in 1899.
Kha Byoo will be Pandaw’s 13th vessel, and following the un-
fortunate events surrounding the Saigon Pandaw, the company
will be hoping for a bit more luck with its latest boat.
Zayar Phyo
also includes two nights for two
adults and two children under
12 in a 55-square-metre Deluxe
Room with 17-square-metre
private veranda, breakfast, air-
port transfers and a roll-away
bed.
Under the tutelage of Bagan
Lodge’s resident thanaka ex-
perts, guests will get the chance
to learn when the fragrant paste
paint, where it comes from,
and how to authentically and
creatively apply it.
“It’s no secret that most kids
usually want nothing more than
to play in a pool all day long, es-
pecially when on vacation,” said
Jon Bourbaud, Bagan Lodge’s
general manager.
“We’ve got a fantastic pool.
But we’ve also got the ability to
provide an experience that gets
under the surface of this won-
derful culture.”
Family Escape is priced at
$300 including tax and service
charge and is valid for stays be-
tween March 15 and October 14
this year.
Opened in August last year,
Bagan Lodge features 85 rooms
conceptualised by noted French
designer Brigitte Dumont de
Chassart and sits on the edge
of an archaeological wonder-
land home to more than 3,000
ancient temples, pagodas and
stupas.
Tourist at a sunset viewing spot on Shwe San Daw Pagoda in Bagan, Myanmar.
SherpaHossainy
The swimming pool at Bagan Lodge.
BaganLodge