Accounting Reference Date Change & Loan Facility

RNS Number : 2146H

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd

23 March 2020

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

23 March 2020

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd.

("MSH" or the "Company" or the "Group")

Change of Accounting Reference Date and Loan Facility

Myanmar Strategic Holdings (LSE: SHWE), an independent developer and manager of consumer businesses located in Myanmar, today updates shareholders on: (i) the change in the Company's financial year end from 31 March to 30 September; and (ii) the increase of its working capital loan facility with MACAN Pte. Ltd., the Company's largest shareholder.

Change in Financial Year End

Following a decision by the Myanmar Government that all Myanmar companies must change their financial year end to 30 September of each year,  commencing last year, 2019, the Company and its subsidiaries' accounting reference date will change from 31 March to 30 September. The current financial year will therefore cover a period of 18 months from 1 April 2019 to 30 September 2020.

Consequently, the Company will release its (i) unaudited financial results for the second six month period from 1 October 2019 to 31 March 2020 (the "Interim Financial Results"); and (ii) audited financial results for the 18 month period from 1 April 2019 to 30 September 2020 (the "Full Year Financial Results") as follows:

Type of Announcement	Financial Period	Comparative Financial Period	Latest Date for Release
Interim Financial Results	1 October 2019 to 31 March 2020 (6-month period)	1 October 2018 to 31 March 2019 (6-month period)	30 June 2020
	1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 (12-month period)	1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 (12-month period)
Full Year Financial Results	1 April 2019 to 30 September 2020  (18-month period)	1 April 2018 to 30 September 2019 (18-month period)	31 January 2021

Loan Facility

The Company has agreed to increase its existing loan facility (the "Loan Facility") with MACAN PTE. LTD. from US$3.0 million to US$7.0 million. As at today, the Company has drawn down only the initial facility of US$3.0 million. There have been no other changes to the terms of the Loan Facility which was originally put in place in July 2019.

The Loan Facility has a tenure of up to three years, may be repayable earlier at the Company's discretion and will have an interest rate of 6.0% per annum.

The Loan Facility has been put in place to enable the Company to finance new investment opportunities and as part of the Group's ongoing working capital requirements.

Commenting, Enrico Cesenni, Chief Executive Officer of Myanmar Strategic Holdings, said:  

"In light of developments regarding COVID-19, MSH's immediate priority is to ensure the safety of its employees, customers and stakeholders.

"MSH continues to be committed to Myanmar, with all our foreign and local personnel remaining on the ground to support our existing operations and to capitalise on new growth and investment opportunities.

" The Board remains focused on protecting long-term value for its stakeholders, and managing the near-term pressures on the business. We are confident in our strategy and remain positive on the outlook and the resilience of the Myanmar economy and its people."

For more information please visit  www.ms-holdings.com  or contact:

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd. Richard Greer, Independent Non-Executive Chairman Enrico Cesenni, Founder and CEO	[e-mail] [e-mail]
Allenby Capital Limited (Broker) Nick Athanas Nick Naylor Nicholas Chambers	[phone]
Yellow Jersey PR (Financial PR) Georgia Colkin Henry Wilkinson	[phone]

Notes to editors

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd.

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd. is an independent developer and manager of consumer businesses located in Myanmar, one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The Company's portfolio currently focuses on Education, Services and Hospitality with the view to expand within the broader consumer sector in Myanmar.

Education sector:  the Company currently has exclusive development and franchising agreements with Wall Street English for ten English language centres across Myanmar over the course of the ten-year agreement. Two centres were opened in 2017, a third in August 2018, and a fourth in February 2020. As of February 2020, Wall Street English Myanmar served ca. 4,000 students since its inception.

The Company also operates a joint venture with Auston Institute of Management to develop and operate the Auston College Myanmar. The private school opened in May 2018 offering diplomas in Engineering Technology, Mechanical Engineering and Networking, Information Systems, and Security. English language learning is also provided by the Company's nearby Wall Street English centre. In February 2020, the Company announced a partnership with Liverpool John Moores University to provide high quality engineering training programmes for young, working professionals in Myanmar, to be taught by Auston College Myanmar's teaching staff at its Junction Square complex in Yangon.

The Company launched its first international school, the Yangon American International School in Yangon, in August 2019.

Services sector:  through its acquisition of EXERA, the Company offers security, risk management and secure logistics services, including cash-in-transit. Founded in 2013, EXERA employs approximately 1,100 guards making it one of the largest security services providers in Myanmar.

Hospitality sector:  through its portfolio, the Company currently manages over 470 beds across four boutique hotels in three core tourist locations across Myanmar, operating under the award winning Ostello Bello budget hospitality brand. MSH operates an asset light strategy, entering into long-term operating and management agreements with local hotel owners.

Myanmar was one of the fastest growing economies in Asia in 2017 and 2018 (Source: Asian Development Bank). In 2019 and 2020, its annual GDP growth is expected to be about 7% (Source: Asian Development Bank), making it one of the fastest growing economies in the world.  

MSH is well positioned to provide investors early exposure to Myanmar's strong economic fundamentals enhanced by ASEAN's wider growth prospects. 

 

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