[eleven news] 일본 싱가포르 조인 양곤에 랜드마크 건설

An artist's impression of the Landmark project which will be built in Yangon 
(Photo - Yoma Strategic Holdings)

Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation and Singapore-based Yoma Strategic have already agreed to jointly explore business opportunities and make further investments in Myanmar, according to company sources.

The Singapore-listed conglomerate with operations in Myanmar, together with Serge Pun & Associates (SPA) and First Myanmar Investment Co Ltd (FMI), signed this week the agreement with Mitsubishi Corporation as the preferred business partners of Japan’s largest general trading company, which will invest further in Myanmar.

“This non-exclusive MOU will deepen the parties’ existing business relationship and clear the way for potential joint opportunities in future. The Japanese conglomerate will benefit by securing access to unrivaled local expertise in the rapidly developing country,” Yoma Strategic Holdings said in a statement.

“This alliance with Mitsubishi Corporation, one of Japan’s leading companies, will be instrumental to further collaboration between the parties and ensure that our ongoing projects will continue to progress well. We are honoured to further cement our warm relationship with Mitsubishi Corporation,” said Andrew Rickards, Yoma Strategic’s chief executive officer.

 Yoma Strategic also signed on Tuesday a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Estate to invest in the prestigious Landmark project (excluding the Peninsula Yangon) in Yangon, following an earlier agreement signed on the same day.

 The centrally-located 10-acre Landmark project will comprise approximately two million square feet gross floor area of residential, office, retail and hospitality property and is situated opposite the Trader’s Hotel, close to the Sakura Tower and adjacent to the Bogyoke Aung San market, a famous tourist destination. 

Japanese companies will also be involved in the planning, design, construction and operation of the project, providing technical support through its extensive network of affiliated companies, all of which hold extensive track records in Japan and around the region.

 “The Landmark development will be developed into an iconic centerpiece which will become the focal point of Yangon’s downtown business district. We believe the experience and expertise of Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Estate in developing large scale mixed-use developments worldwide will help the project to achieve the highest global standards,” said Andrew Rickards in a statement.

Eleven Media contacted SPA Group, one of the business partners of Mitsubishi Corporation, as well as contact persons of Yoma Strategic since Thursday morning but has not received any response so far, except a SMS mentioning that they could not provide the answers in time as the client has not responded yet. 

 Yoma Strategic has operations in Myanmar that span real estate, agriculture, the automotive industry and luxury tourism. Yoma Strategic already works with Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Motors to operate Mitsubishi’s first after sales service centre in Yangon. SPA has also been the exclusive distributor of Mitsubishi elevators and escalators for the Myanmar market since 1998 and Mitsubishi Corporation has been supporting SPA since then. 

 Mitsubishi Corporation is a global integrated business enterprise that develops and operates businesses across virtually every industry including environmental and infrastructure business, industrial finance, energy, metals, machinery, chemicals and foods. With more than 200 offices and subsidiaries in approximately 90 countries worldwide and a network of over 600 group companies, it employs nearly 60,000 people.

Mitsubishi Estate holds a leading position in the Japanese market, operating a spectrum of businesses in diverse fields related to real estate_ including an office building business centered on the Marunouchi district in central Tokyo, a retail property business, a residential business and a hotel business. It is also operating in the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Singapore.

Myanmar is implementing a programme of economic, political and social reforms which means that it has the potential to more than quadruple the size of its economy to over USD200bn by 2030, according to a recent report by McKinsey Global Institute. 

These reforms are attracting global multinational companies who can freely invest in the country since the EU, the US and other western countries have eased the sanctions imposed on it during the military junta’s reign.