Local real estate developer Shwe Taung Real Estate Co; Ltd and Japan’s Aeon Mall Co; Ltd have formed a joint venture to invest, develop, manage and operate large-scale shopping malls in Myanmar, both companies announced on August 4. The JV received approval from the Myanmar Investment Commission last week. Shwe Taung holds a 30 percent stake in the joint venture, Aeon Mall Myanmar Co; Ltd, while Aeon Mall will hold the remaining 70pc.
The agreement between the largest shopping mall operators in both Myanmar and Japan is expected to raise the shopping standards and lifestyle experience in Myanmar to a higher level. Aeon has a portfolio of 172 Aeon Mall-branded malls in Japan and worldwide. It is expected to bring fresh retail concepts like entertainment, pet care and modern lifestyle products and services to Myanmar for the first time. The ministry also permitted joint ventures of retail and wholesale businesses between foreigners and citizens.
The government first opened up the wholesale and retail industry to foreign investors in May 2018, permitting fully foreign-owned companies as well as joint ventures between international and domestic investors to carry out retail and wholesale businesses in Myanmar. Since then, foreign retailers and wholesales of consumer goods, foodstuff, household products, pharmaceutical products, machinery, construction material, agricultural products and electronics have entered the market. These include MyCare Unicharm from Thailand, DKSH from Thailand, Unilever from Netherlands and Nestle from Switzerland.
Source: Myanmar Times