YANGON — Myanmar’s Yoma Bank, a mainstay lender in the Southeast Asian country, is setting the pace in attracting foreign investment after authorities lifted a ban on foreign financial institutions holding shares in local banks. In April, the bank announced that it will receive about 131 billion kyat ($94 million) from Greenwood Capital, an affiliate […]
Insurers authorised to provide bancassurance in Myanmar
March 12, 2020 by
Prudential Myanmar Life Insurance Limited, a subsidiary of UK-based Prudential plc, has signed a partnership with Yoma Bank to provide Myanmar customers with life insurance solutions. The two firms signed a memorandum of understanding allowing Yoma Bank to distribute Prudential Myanmar’s savings and protection products at its branches across the country, according to a release […]
GIC said to become Yoma Bank’s second foreign shareholder
February 4, 2020 by
Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC Pvt Ltd (GIC), and Norway’s private equity firm, Norfund, have bought a substantial stake in Yoma Bank, led by tycoon Serge Pun. GIC and Norfund will be buying a 30 percent stake in Yoma Bank for K130 billion (US$89 million) in the latest round of funding, according to company sources. […]
With 70% Unbanked Population, Myanmar Bets on Fintech to Improve Financial Inclusion
November 25, 2019 by
Despite the Myanmar government’s push to expand access to financial services, the country still trails far behind the rest of Asia in rates of participation in formal financial services, financial literacy, savings rates and the use of digital financial services, according to a new report by social enterprise ONOW Myanmar. But fintech and mobile technology […]
Wave Money focuses on 4G finance opportunities
August 1, 2019 by
Wave Money CEO Brad Jones (pictured) explained 5G will be a long-term play for the mobile financial sector, tipping the technology to open new services which enhance core mobile money services rather than radically alter their make-up. The company, a joint venture between Telenor and Yoma Bank operating in Myanmar, isn’t looking at 5G “that […]
Growth potential seen in microfinance sector
July 31, 2019 by
With a quarter of the Myanmar population living under the poverty line and as much as 87 percent hailing from rural areas, according to the World Bank, the microfinance sector has good potential to grow in Myanmar. However, providers can be more efficient in their funding if there is better financial data on borrowers. Microfinancing […]
Microfinance growth expected to drive higher financial inclusion
July 25, 2019 by
Efforts are being made to raise the rate of financial inclusion in the Myanmar. Under the Myanmar Financial Inclusion Roadmap for 2019 to 2023, authorities are working with the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) to raise the percentage of the population covered by the financial sector to 60 percent from 48pc currently, said Willian Naing, […]
Yoma Bank names new chief executive
July 24, 2019 by
Myanmar’s fourth largest private lender is set to appoint National Australia Bank (NAB) manager Dean Cleland as its new chief executive. Current CEO Hal Bosher would become an adviser to the bank’s Board of Directors and Mr Cleland would take the helm in September. Mr Cleland spent 30 years with the Australia and New Zealand […]
FMI posts record profits for FY 2019
July 9, 2019 by
YANGON—First Myanmar Investment Public Company Limited (FMI) posted revenues of 297.7 billion kyats (US$196.3 million) for fiscal year 2019, a 36-percent increase over last year, the company’s chief operating officer announced at a press conference over the weekend. FMI—a part of the Yoma Group of companies—attributed the growth to strong performances from its Yoma Bank […]
Kargo cuts out middleman to simplify goods transport
July 5, 2019 by
Kargo, a Yangon-based start-up founded by Australian Alexander Wicks in September 2016, is out to simplify a fragmented transport and logistics market and an opaque pricing structure for transporting goods in Myanmar. The company, which aims to directly link transport and logistics firms with customers, received US$800,000 in pre-Series A funding from Singapore-based Cocoon Capital […]
