Industry & Retail

While much ground remains to be covered in Myanmar’s industry and retail sectors, its progress to date is remarkable, given the country’s history and the challenges it faces in a highly competitive neighbourhood. Figures from the end of November 2014 show manufacturing coming in third, behind the oil and gas and power sectors, in terms of total investments received. Strong international support and investment, together with the efforts of a hard-working, young, highly literate and motivated population, are paying increasing dividends, as Myanmar opens up to the world and progresses towards joining the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). With robust economic growth expected to continue, paralleling continued investor interest, industry and retail are likely to see further expansion in 2015 and beyond. While almost all manufacturing areas offer major upsides, an awareness of changing local conditions and the ability to adapt to political dynamics will be key for sustained growth.

This chapter contains interviews with Stuart Dean, CEO, General Electric ASEAN; and Rehan Khan, Managing Director, Coca-Cola Myanmar.