Partnership with Myanmar's DICA

RNS Number : 1939U

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd

10 July 2018

 

10 July 2018

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd.

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

Partnership with Myanmar's Directorate of Company Administration through Wall Street English

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd. (LSE: SHWE), the independent developer and operator of consumer businesses located in Myanmar, one of the fastest growing economies in the world, is pleased to announce that it will be partnering with the Directorate of Company Administration ("DICA") to accelerate capacity building through the provision of English language courses, supporting the development and growth of business in Myanmar (the "Partnership").

Under the terms of the one-year Partnership, commencing today, MSH will provide DICA with flexible blended learning programmes through its Wall Street English franchise for 10 of its senior civil servants. The value of the Partnership is estimated to be in the region of MMK25,000,000 (equivalent to US$18,000) with the option for the Partnership to be extended further. The initial cost of delivering the programmes will be entirely absorbed by MSH.

MSH has a long-standing commitment to English language learning which culminated in its partnership with Wall Street English and Pearson in August 2016. MSH's Board believes that English proficiency accelerates the transfer of knowledge and fosters social mobility by enabling talent to flourish. Since the opening of the Company's first Wall Street English centre in 2017, it has trained over 1,800 students and participated in several pro-bono teaching programmes in aid of capacity building within the local communities. In 2017, among other initiatives, Wall Street English provided pro-bono English language courses to civil servants in the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.

U Aung Naing Oo, Director General of DICA, commented: "We are grateful to Myanmar Strategic Holdings and Wall Street English for the invaluable support they have dedicated to Myanmar's capacity building efforts. Enhancing English language skills will enable DICA to better serve its customer base and ultimately will create better conditions for conducting business in Myanmar." 

U Aung Myo Thein, Partner at Myanmar Strategic Holdings, said: "Over the years, DICA has committed significant resources to improving the ease of doing business in Myanmar, and MSH is proud to make a tangible contribution to further enhance DICA's capabilities. I take this opportunity to reiterate our key commitment to make a positive impact through our portfolio companies in the surrounding urban and rural communities with education being a main focus area."

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

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd. Enrico Cesenni, Founder and CEO	[e-mail]
Allenby Capital Limited (Broker) Nick Athanas Nick Naylor Nick Chambers	[phone]
Yellow Jersey PR (Financial PR) Georgia Colkin Joe Burgess Henry Wilkinson	[phone] [phone] [phone]

Notes to editors

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd.

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

Hospitality sector: through its portfolio the Company currently manages over 470 beds across 4 boutique hotels in 3 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.

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, and, as of March 2018, they served over 1,000 students. Through the franchise MSH also partnered with the Directorate of Company Administration in Myanmar to provide English language courses to its civil servants. A third centre is scheduled for opening in August 2018.

The Company has 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, Construction Project Management and Networking, Information Systems, and Security. English language learning is also provided by the Company's nearby Wall Street English centre.

Services sector: through its recent acquisition of EXERA, the Company now offers safety, security and cash in transit services. Founded in 2013, EXERA employs approx. 1,000 guards making it one of the largest safety and security operators in Myanmar.

Myanmar was one of the fastest growing economies in Asia in 2017 (Source: Asian Development Bank). In 2018, its annual GDP growth is expected to be about 8.0% (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.

Wall Street English

Founded in Italy in 1972 and acquired by Pearson in 2010, Wall Street English ("WSE") is one of the largest global English language learning franchises in the world. WSE currently serves over 180,000 students across 400 learning centres located in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Utilizing both company-owned and franchised centres, WSE has provided instruction to over 3 million people.

Under the Area Development Agreement, MSH acquired the exclusive rights to develop up to ten WSE centres over the course of ten years. While Pearson will licence the WSE brand and provide the related learning methodology and educational materials, MSH will be responsible for identifying suitable locations, fitting out the centres and managing day to day operations, amongst other owner responsibilities.

In November 2017, Pearson agreed to sell WSE to a consortium consisting of funds affiliated with Baring Private Equity Asia and CITIC Capital.

Directorate of Investment and Company Administration

The Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) is in charge of handling company registrations for local and foreign businesses under the Myanmar Companies Law. DICA also serves as a secretary to the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC), which is the responsible body for investment applications.

 

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