As one of the poorer countries in ASEAN, Myanmar’s property market is not quite as well-developed as some of its Southeast Asian neighbours, but it is slowing catching up as a new wave of foreign commercial development in Yangon, the country’s biggest city, is on the rise, reports Nikkei Asian Review.
Notable developments in the pipeline include the HAGL Myanmar Center, a USD440 million commercial development spearheaded by the Vietnamese firm Hoang Anh Gia Lai. Upon completion in 2017, the centre will be home to the country’s largest shopping mall, a huge array of restaurants and a 400-key hotel by Spanish group Melia.
South Korean developer Hanwha Group is also breaking ground in Yangon with a USD150 million mixed-use project in the works. As well as retail and office space, the site will be home to two 30-storey condominium buildings which will be equipped with indoor golf courses.
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Thailand’s Fragrant Property also have plans in Yangon with the USD300 million Nawaday Complex – a hotel, office and retail development – which is due to start construction next year.
It’s not only foreign developers getting in on the action either; the Shwe Taung Group recently launched a USD300 million mixed-use project in the centre of the city, reports the Myanmar Times.
Located near the Shwedagon Pagoda, the project will be known as Junction City and is already 35 percent completed after receiving approval from the Myanmar Investment Commission.
The site will be comprised of a five-star Pan Pacific hotel, a shopping centre with Myanmar’s first IMAX cinema, serviced apartments and an office block developed jointly with Keppel Land.
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“This [first]phase will be finished in 2017. It will have three buildings, a 25-storey five-star hotel, a 23-storey office tower and a five-storey shopping mall. The office tower and shopping mall will be completed in the first quarter of 2017 and the hotel in the third quarter,” said U Aung Zaw Naing, CEO of Shwe Taung’s development arm. The second phase comprising the serviced residences are scheduled to complete in 2019.
This ramp up in commercial development in Yangon is in line with expectations for increased consumer spending in the city as Myanmar’s middle class continues to grow.
As Nikkei Asian Review says, since civilian rule has been restored to the country, small business and foreign companies have emerged, bringing forth a new middle class.
It is predicted by the US-based Boston Consulting Group that Burmese with a monthly income of over MMK500,000 (USD384) will double in size to 10.3 million by 2020, thus creating a new demographic for today’s investors.
Source: Property Report
