A Newsletter of Myanmar PE & VC Association
Dear Members/Friends/Affiliates,
With the close of the year 2020 and as we enter 2021, we remember times during which together we have shared both challenges and achievements over the past year. It is a time to convey our thanks to all our valued members and friends for your effort in helping to improve the PE/VC environment in Myanmar.
We are conscious of the damage caused by the pandemic to Myanmar’s economy, which might still see slow growth during the coming financial year in spite of some more positive forecasts. However, it has been suggested that this is also a time to leverage the opportunity that the pandemic provides, to initiate and negotiate needed economic and financial reforms, which might be more difficult to realise under usual circumstances.
Myanmar being a great end-market – with potential arising from its GDP growth, population, demographics, improved investment climate, and on-going digital transformation – no doubt, PE & VC investors within and outside the country will continue to eye investment opportunities in Myanmar.
Recent deal making & fundraising
Some of the larger deals that have taken the spotlight during 2020 include:
- Delta Capital Myanmar and Daiwa PI Partners’ $12.6 million investment in Commercial Plastics Company, a plastic bottles recycler firm
- Ascent Capital Partners Pte Ltd leading a $26 million investment in Frontiir Pte Ltd
- Global buyout firm CVC Capital Partners’ $700 million deal close in Irrawaddy Green Towers.
The year also witnessed some traction on the fundraising side, especially by our member firms. Recently Ascent Capital Partners closed its Myanmar-focused fund at $88 million. Meanwhile, Delta Capital Myanmar and Emerging Markets Investment Advisers (EMIA) are moving to raise their third respective Funds, each around the scale of $100 million in fund size.
A recap of member activities
So much has been accomplished since day one. With our vision to nurture the professional development of PE/VC professionals, MPE&VCA led a number of training activities both for our members and others across our network. Our member activities covered subjects such as legal, finance, private equity, environmental, social and governance and human resources and our programmes were joined by people from around the world.
Moving Ahead
Deal Sourcing
The MPE&VCA Deal Share platform is expected to be launched in Q1 of 2021; a platform built to bridge the gap between supply and demand, helping entrepreneurs in Myanmar with prospective funding opportunities and assisting member investors to identify the right investee companies. The platform will be accessible by our member institutional investors from both in-country and overseas. It will make it easier than ever to highlight investment opportunities in Myanmar, contributing to deal flow and increased investment.
Upcoming programmes
2021 will be an exciting year for the Association to host a wide range of events and we are hoping to organise these both online and, of course, offline once the COVID situation gets control. We have a number of events in the calendar, including virtual discussions, knowledge sharing, networking and briefings. We are also working with like-minded local and regional associations to improve our programme offerings to our members and communities.
Please reach out to us if you have any event or project ideas to develop with us or need our assistance in areas related to PE and VC. We’d love to hear from you and will continue to seek more engagement with you, our members, in this New Year.
Apart from the above, we will continue to build valuable relationships with a broader group of parties interested in Myanmar, including regional associations and prospective GPs and LPs.
Let us strive together to achieve the best for the future and we wish you a happy, healthy, and successful new year 2021.
Warm regards,
MPE&VCA