property report 112 february 2014 scipio article

8/13/2019 Property Report 112 February 2014 Scipio Article

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SPECIAL REPORT

Myanmar inmotionBY ROBERT CARRY

While waiting to see if a new Condominium Law opens upMyanmar real estate to the world, major developers drive

Yangons residential market forward.


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SHWEDAGON PAGODA

IN YANGON


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SPECIAL REPORT

I was still reeling from the militarys ruthless

suppression of the monk-led pro-democracy

protests a year earlier when Cyclone Nargis

swept across the country, killing 140,000 people.

International aid agencies stood ready to help

but the junta refused to let them into the country.

It looked like the military government, paranoid

about outside interference, cared more about

maintaining its position than it did about the lives

of its people.

While tonnes of aid stood waiting in Bangkok,

Yangon city was in near-total darkness. Uprooted

trees littered the streets and hundreds huddled in

future looked bleak.

opening up to the world. The civilian government

many expected to be a stooge of the military that

handed it power has been introducing a string

of reforms. With the West dropping sanctions

booming. GDP grew by 5.5 percent to year-end

2012 and 2013s numbers are expected to be

equally bright.

With foreign companies practically queuing at

industrial and commercialare all on the up, and

Colliers and Savills, two international real estate

in prime locations in Yangon, the commercial


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capital of what is still the poorest country inSoutheast Asia, is in particularly short supply. At

USD78 per sqm per month, rent prices easily top

One reason for this type of growth, particularly

with international grade apartments and units, is

Theres little supply and a lot of competition for

what is in place.

Unlike countries such as Ireland, where real

estate prices ballooned before crashing down,

wealth rather than credit. With no stock market in

the country, property is one of the only available

cash dumps aside from US dollars and gold.

Without the worry of banks coming looking for

to wait for a return. The fact that the market is

supported by this type of owner makes it far less

likely to crash.

fold since we arrived here 18 months ago, says

which provides real estate advisory, facilities

services and property management services in the

country.

Unfortunately, at present, foreigners cant buy

would-be investors have other routes in. A handful

which is Yoma Strategic. This group is responsible

for Thanylin Star City the biggest mixed-useproject under construction in Yangon.

Sited on 135 acres in southeast Yangon, this

ambitious project will ultimately have some 9,000

residential units and 157,935 sqm of commercial

and retail facilities. It will also feature a riverside

promenade, ferry terminal and sporting facilities.

Eight miles west of Yangon, meanwhile, is the

opened in 2001 with the latest phase currently

under development. Seen as the countrys most

prestigious residential address, the site is set on

650 acres of landscaped grounds.

The development, which is home to three

ambassadors and many of the citys diplomats,

features an international hospital, international

school, country club, swiming pool, spa, restaurant

and gym all built around a Gary Player-designed

golf course. Its range of residential units is made

up of villas, townhouses and condominiums for up

to 800 families.

What we did [with Pun Hlaing Golf Estate]

was radically different from what everyone else in

Yangon was doing, says Cyrus Pun the groups

executive director and co-head of real estate. Itsnothing newyou see it in premium developments

all our land holdingand it has the development

rights to that land. What Yoma [which is listed on

the Singapore stock market] brings to the table is

foreign capital.

In other words, Yoma Strategic is a company

which means foreign investors can tap into the


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SPECIAL REPORT


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property report 112 february 2014 scipio article

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