Singapore Deputy PM meets Myanmar President, opposition leader

The price of Myanmar draught beer went from K600 to K700 per glass.....

Local bars in Myanmar are called &ldquo beer stations&rdquo for a reason: Myanmar citizens in urban areas prefer beer to other types of alcohol, and tend to stick to large domestic brands.

In the beginning of June, the price of Myanmar and ABC beers were increased, causing some grumbling across the city&rsquo s bars and made Myanmar drinkers contemplate their brand loyalty.

According to Myanmar Brewery, which makes Myanmar and ABC beers, the price was increased because general costs have risen.

U Soe Kyaw Thu, deputy managing director of Myanmar Brewery, told Myanmar Business Today, &ldquo There are many reasons for the price increase. Not only general costs but other things are also involved. We cannot give details because it is confidential.&rdquo

However, in light of the rapid decline in the value of the local currency kyat the move could be seen as an offsetting measure by the beer maker.

Myanmar Brewery distributes six brands of beer &ndash Myanmar Beer, Tiger Beer, ABC Extra Stout, Andaman Gold Blue, Andaman Gold Red and Double Strong &ndash around the country, with separate marketing and price points for each.

The price of Myanmar draught beer went from K600 to K700 per glass and that of ABC went from K750 to K900. To temporarily offset these costs, Myanmar Beer launched a buy-five-get-one-free promotion until August 7.

U Aung Naing, manager of Thidar Oo restaurant in Yangon, said that after the price rose on June 1, the sale of beer has so far remained unaffected.

&ldquo There has been no difference [in sales]. We will probably find out the effect after the promotion period ends. With the promotion it cost 3,500 for six glasses of draught beer, while it was K3,600 before.&rdquo

For bottled beer, the retail prices have also increased by about K200-300 for Myanmar beer and K200 for ABC.

U Aye Kyaw, manager of Grab and Go convenience store in Thingangyun township, said that Myanmar beer sales have not declined, but some other brands, which have not seen a price hike, are posting better sales.

&ldquo In our store, the highest selling beer is now Chang beer [from Thailand]. The price is K700 for a small can and K1,000 for a large one. Myanmar beer is still selling at the same rate, but regular beer drinkers may change their preference to Chang or Andaman if the prices of these established brands keep going up.&rdquo

He said it&rsquo s too early to tell whether Myanmar beer sales will be affected but predicted that Chang beer may take one of the top spots of the Myanmar beer market.

U Min Min Htay, owner of a liquor store in Yangon, said that beer sales would not decline in cities such as Yangon and Mandalay, as there are many middle class people who have developed a brand loyalty to Myanmar beer. He said sales may decline in smaller cities, however, the current promotion may offset the increased price.

&ldquo Myanmar Beer promotions, which boost sales, usually happen two or three times a year. Normally, prizes that are given out to winners, such as pens, t-shirts, umbrellas and key chains, are not deemed valuable in rural areas and often prizes are not even available. But things will be different if the prize is more beer.&rdquo

A 2010 World Health Organization study, the most recent comprehensive study of alcohol consumption in Myanmar, found that 82 percent of alcohol consumed came in the form of beer, followed distantly by whiskey. Myanmar drinks relatively little, at only 0.7 litres per person per year, the least of any non-Muslim-majority country. It should be noted, however, that the study did not include homemade alcohol such as palm toddy, and that this study was conducted before Myanmar&rsquo s cities began their economic boom in earnest. With urban wealth increasing in the past half-decade, more beer stations have opened, especially in Yangon, Mandalay and other commercial centres.

A lot of international brands have shown interest to venture into Myanmar&rsquo s untapped beer market. Danish brewer Carlsberg formed a joint venture with local firm Myanmar Golden Star and started producing beer in its new $70-m factory in Bago earlier this year. Dutch beer maker Heineken also formed a JV with local firm Brewery Company Ltd to form a JV to brew and sell beers, produced in its $60-m greenfield brewery in the country.

One manager of a City Mart supermarket in Yangon said, &ldquo There&rsquo s a lot of foreign beer brands now, but Myanmar Beer and Tiger are still the top-selling at our stores. Typically, foreigners are the largest consumers of foreign beers. I don&rsquo t think sales of Myanmar beer and Tiger would go down because Myanmar people are usually attached to their brands.&rdquo

Bottles Hit Shelves as Carlsberg Plays Catch Up

Carlsberg Myanmar will introduce two of its brands of beer to store shelves this week, as the business attempts to loosen Myanmar Beer&rsquo s grip on the local market, the Danish brewer said.

Yoma Beer and Tuborg Beer, produced in Myanmar with domestically grown grains but other materials imported, are already available in draught form.

The eponymous Carlsberg Beer will be available in September, an official from the company said.

U Thant Zin Tun, executive director of Carlsberg Myanmar, told Myanmar Business Today, &ldquo We have eight to 10 percent of market share in Yangon, Bago and Pyay. We distribute all over Yangon, as well as Mon state, and Mandalay, Tanintharyi, Sagaing and Ayeyarwaddy regions.&rdquo

Carlsberg Myanmar Beer, Tuborg Beer and Yoma Beer were introduced to the market in April.

Carlsberg received a licence to brew and sell beer in Myanmar in 2013. In partnership with local firm Myanmar Golden Star, Carlsberg now operates a $70-million brewery, in which Carlsberg retains 51 percent share. The brewery has a production capacity of 60 million litres per year.

Sunrise on the Mekong river......Posted July 4th, 2015

Japan  plans to  invest US$6 billion in developmental aid to Mekong region countries &ndash Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Vietnam &ndash over the next three years.

This development comes amidst Chinese preparations  to launch a new institutional lender, the Asian Infrastructure & Investment Bank (AIIB), which is seen as a Chinese initiative to counter the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is dominated by the US and Japan.   Earlier in May, Japan unveiled a plan to provide $110 billion in aid, as a means to drive Asian  infrastructure projects.

The Mekong River is a major trading route linking China&rsquo s southwestern province of Yunnan to Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. All present excellent economic prospects, with their infrastructure needs suggesting that they are  promising destinations for Japanese exporters of railway technologies and  infrastructure.

Tokyo&rsquo s planned assistance over the next three years was announced at the conclusion of a summit meeting in Tokyo between leaders from the Mekong region and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

KFC Chicken - Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

Oct 13 Yum Brands Inc is partnering with Singapore-listed Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd to debut a KFC restaurant in Myanmar in 2015, making it one of the first big Western fast-food chains to enter the newly emerging market.

Global companies have been lining up to take advantage of an underpenetrated market in Myanmar, which has been opening up since 2011 after decades of military dictatorship.

Yum, which owns the KFC and Pizza Hut brands, joins a list of companies that includes Unilever and Coca-Cola Co which hope to tap the country' s growing middle and affluent classes, estimated by the Boston Consulting Group to double by 2020.

Fewer than four out of 10 consumers in Myanmar frequent restaurants, according to BCG' s 2013 report.

" With 50 million people and a growing middle class with disposable income, the country offers significant consumer opportunity for Yoma Strategic to grow KFC over the long term," Yoma said in a statement.

Yoma, a Myanmar-focused diversified real estate company, said the KFC franchise would initially focus on Yangon, the country' s largest city.

" The development plans call for initial market entry in Yangon and expansion to second/third-tier cities within the country is always a possibility," JR Ching, head of business development at Yoma Strategic, told Reuters in an email.

The company said it was in the process of finalising its business plans and could not give further details.

Yoma, chaired by tycoon Serge Pun, is trying to expand beyond real estate by partnering with international companies trying to enter the Myanmar market. It has a stake in Asia Beverages Co, which distributes bottled water and alcohol in the country, and also has interests in the retail industry