Board changes

RNS Number : 9837P

Myanmar Investments Intl Ltd

15 October 2019

 

15 October 2019

Myanmar Investments International Limited

Board changes

Myanmar Investments International Limited (AIM: MIL) (the 'Company'), the AIM-quoted Myanmar focused investment company, announces that further to the proposals to commence an orderly winding down and to return capital to shareholders that will be subject to a shareholder vote at the forthcoming AGM, the following changes will take effect with effect on or after the date of the AGM.

As previously notified, Michael Dean, the Finance Director, indicated that he will step down from the board after this year's AGM.  Mr Dean will cease to be a director of the Company when a new CFO is appointed, or on the 30 November 2019, whichever is later.  The board are currently running a selection process for a non-board CFO candidate.

To augment local expertise in country, it is proposed that Rudolf Walter Gildemeister will join the Board as an Independent Non-executive Director conditional on the resignation of Craig Martin which is conditional on the passing of the resolutions at the AGM. Mr Gildemeister, aged 53, is co-founder and Managing Partner of All Myanmar Advisors, a Myanmar focussed corporate finance and strategy advisory boutique.

He has over 20 years' leadership experience in successfully building, growing and restructuring businesses across industries, mostly in Asia. Before working in Myanmar, he was Managing Director and Asia-Pacific lead of CS Solution Partners for Credit Suisse, based in Hong Kong. He started his career at Nestlé where he held various brand management and business development functions in Hong Kong and South-East Asia, which included establishing Nestlé's sales and marketing activities in Myanmar.

Mr Gildemeister is on the Harvard Business School Global Advisory Board and a Director of several private companies in both Hong Kong and Myanmar. He holds a BSc in Economics from Bristol University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

William Knight, Chairman of the Company, said "We thank Mike for his valued contribution to MIL.  We are also pleased to announce Rudolf's proposed appointment to the MIL Board as an Independent Non-executive Director. His in-depth knowledge of Myanmar will complement our existing strengths".

The following further information is disclosed in accordance with Schedule 2 (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

Current Directorships and Partnerships	Directorships and Partnerships held in the last 5 years
All Myanmar Advisors Pte Ltd / Co Ltd	Nielsen-MMRD Pte Ltd
Myanmar Business Development Advisors Co Ltd	Marketing Research (HK) Ltd OGF Ltd
BS Yangon Ltd
Fresco Myanmar Co. Ltd
Gold Bunker Ltd
Goldbridge Advisors Co Ltd
Golden Rock Capital Advisers Pte Ltd
Bazzari Ltd

Mr Gildemeister does not hold a direct interest in the Company's Ordinary Shares nor does he have a direct interest in the Company's Warrants.

There are no other matters which are required to be announced for Mr Gildemeister pursuant to Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

For further information please contact:

Craig Martin Managing Director Myanmar Investments International Ltd [phone] [phone] [e-mail]	Michael Dean Finance Director Myanmar Investments International Ltd [phone] [phone] [e-mail]
Nominated Adviser Philip Secrett / Jamie Barklem / Seamus Fricker Grant Thornton UK LLP [phone]	Broker William Marle / Giles Rolls finnCap Ltd [phone]

For more information about MIL, please visit www.myanmarinvestments.com

Notes to Editors

Myanmar Investments International Limited (AIM: MIL) was the first Myanmar-focused investment company to be admitted to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. MIL was established in 2013 with the intention of building long-term shareholder value by proactively investing in a diversified portfolio of Myanmar businesses that will benefit from the country's re-emergence and ongoing economic development. The Company is led by an experienced and entrepreneurial team who between them have considerable industrial, corporate and financial management experience.

MIL's largest investment to-date (US$21 million investment for a 9.1 per cent effective shareholding) is in Apollo Towers, one of Myanmar's largest telecommunications towers company with approximately 1,800 towers. Apollo operates in the high growth telecommunications sector with a strong management that is growing the number of co-locations (i.e. multiple tenancies) on its portfolio of towers. The tie-up with Pan Asia Towers is expected to produce a more efficient and profitable combined investment with greater prospects for an eventual liquidity event.

MIL's first investment in August 2014 was into Myanmar Finance International Limited ("MFIL") which today is one of the leading microfinance companies in Myanmar. Since MIL invested, MFIL's business has expanded rapidly. The business is profitable with a sustainable expansion plan for long-term growth. In November 2015, the Norwegian Government's Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries ("Norfund"), the Norwegian development finance institution, also became a 25 per cent shareholder in MFIL.

MIL's third investment in May 2017 was into Medicare International Health and Beauty Pte. Ltd., ("Medicare"). This was a greenfield pharmacy, healthcare and personal care product retail franchise joint venture. The joint venture partners are: a) H&B Management Solutions Pte. Ltd., which owns Medicare Vietnam, one of the largest pharmacy, health, beauty and personal care retail groups which runs over 80 outlets in Vietnam; and b) Randy Guttery, an industry veteran in the retail sector in Asia. It is expected that Medicare will fill a vacuum in the present retail landscape and at the same time tap into the rapid growth of the middle and affluent classes in Myanmar.

Myanmar, a country of approximately 54 million people and roughly the size of France, has been isolated for much of the last 50 years. Strategically situated in one of the world's most economically dynamic regions amid the intersection of India, China and South East Asia it is a key component of China's 'One Belt One Road' strategy providing direct access to the Indian Ocean.

Whilst it was once one of the more prosperous countries in Southeast Asia with an abundance of natural resources (oil, natural gas, arable land, tourist attractions and a long coastline), it is now one of the least developed countries in the world. However, it has a number of competitive advantages: a population of 54 million people (it is the 26th most populous country in the world); a large workforce with a high literacy rate of 90 per cent; 68 per cent of the population is of working age (between 15 and 65); and 28 per cent of the population is under 24 which is expected to provide a strengthening consumer demand. According to the IMF, Myanmar's GDP growth rate is expected to be 6.8 per cent through to 2024.

Myanmar has undergone an unprecedented transformational reform process, initiated by the U Thein Sein administration in 2011. The elections in 2015 were the first democratic elections in 50 years. This remarkable change has not been without its difficulties and the situation in Rakhine state, which stems from a complex and historically charged background, remains un-remedied. The Advisory Commission on the Rakhine State crisis, led by the late former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, has provided an important framework which can provide the foundations for addressing the distressing situation there.

 

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