Myanmar, rising among Southeast Asia

By Chris Ong

Among the various Southeast Asia countries, Myanmar is rising and making an impact in the region. With the other regional countries having the head start, the gap between them and Myanmar would be even more obvious. But things are about to change. Since the welcome of its political freedom, we can see the global influence to the country’s culture and economic status.

With the opening market, we can see International banks penetrating. From Bloomberg BusinessWeek report,  we can see Key players like Visa and MasterCard are aggressively finding collaborating partners and setting up ATMs in Myanmar to made a presence in Myanmar. We are proud to be part of the effort for the MasterCard campaign in Yangon International Airport. Strategically located at key locations in the Airport, MasterCard welcomes the visitors and also “reminds” them their presence in the country with simple and impactful message and placements. 

Yangon International Airport Arrival MasterCard Greetings

Yangon International Airport Arrival
 MasterCard Series of Lightboxes

Domestic brands are under huge pressure from the rapid influx of foreign companies, Not only does major western companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi are rushing in for opportunities, we can see Asian brands trying to make an impact too. "It is very tough for us, now that these big multinationals are here," said Sai Sam Htun, chairman of the Loi Hein Group of Cos., one of Myanmar's largest conglomerates, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

Billboard Scene at Yangon CBD located at
Bo Gyoke and Sule Pagoda Road

Jetstar billboard with us at the corner of Bo Gyoke 

and Sule Pagoda road, facing Trader Hotel

China brand like Midea and ChangHong have their brands advertised along the streets and roads of Yangon. Not only will they be competing with the domestic brands for home appliances market, big players like LG, Panasonic and Samsung have their own outdoor advertising billboards all across the country in strategic locations.

Chang Hong Electronic billboard at Yangon Airport Road

Midea strategic billboard placement just outside of the
Airport along the Airport Road

Following the report from The Economist, telecommunication and IT infrastructures are growing at a healthy speed, no wonder HTC and Smasung are spending big money with billboard placements located at key locations to target their consumers. Along the busy streets in Yangon, we can see that these giant mobile phone makers are always trying to make their product the most prominent and head on by the vehicles and the human traffic.

HTC Wall Facade along the busy streets of Yangon CBD Area

Samsung showing off their flagship Galaxy Note II phone
along the major road leading to Traders Hotel

As the culture opens up more, the Burmese are more tech and IT savvy, we can see advertisement for IT product can be seen all around Myanmar. For Kyocera, they see this as a chance to penetrate into this growing market. Their regional campaign with us targets the regional market like Bangladesh, Nepal and also Yangon. Their Yangon campaign was done with a placement at the Airport arrival; they will be able to capture the attention of all the arrival passengers.

Kyocera Light box prominently located at

 Yangon International Airport Arrival

konica Minolta situated before the turn into

Yangon Railway Station

Myanmar’s auto market is now blossoming too. Most of the market is dominated by Japanese automakers like Nissan Motor and Nissan, but western companies like Ford motor and General Motors have all established or plan to establish presence in the newly open country. Hitching a ride from the Korean wave, Hyundai will also be setting up their shop in Myanmar. Younger people of Myanmar are influenced by Korean culture; they are walking into showrooms looking for cars that were shown in Korean drama.

Naypyidaw, which have just recently opened their International Airport, have seen a growth in the market. This capital of Myanmar have held the World Economic Forum 2013 during this year’s June, ever since, Naypyidaw have been in the radar of various investors. To target the investors who are there for the forum, MasterCard have worked through us to locate a premium site which helps to create an impression to them and also the tourist and locals of Naypyidaw.

Located at a prominent location before

 reaching Junction Center of Naypyidaw.

The second largest city which is situated north of Yangon is the capital of Mandalay region. Mandalay is the economic hub of Upper Burma and is considered the center of Burmese culture. With the high influx of Chinese immigrants, it has shaped the city’s ethic makeup and increased commerce with China.

Mandalay is the major trading and communications center for northern and central Burma. Much of Burmese external trade to China and India goes through Mandalay.

Mandalay City Center 

With so many different kinds of industries heading into Myanmar, we are sure that the outdoor scene there will get even more vibrant than what we see now. Investors will definitely keep this country within their radar for more investment.