Business Day: Daiwa Aids Yangon To

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Subject: Business Day: Daiwa Aids Yangon To Establish Stock Exchange

Business Day, Bangkok 19 March 1996

JAPAN'S Daiwa Securities is helping the Myanmar government in the
formative stages of the establishment of a stock market and hopes to
eventually take a 50 percent stake in the exchange which has been
unofficially called the Myanmar Securities Exchange Center.

Daiwa is hopeful it will receive approval from the Myanmar authorities,
possibly later this year, to go ahead with exchange joint venture. The
remaining 50 percent stake will go the Myanmar government

After being selected by the Japanese government to help Myanmar in its
privatization program, Daiwa sent two specialists from Tokyo to train
Myanmar officials. The training program has been provided free of
charge to Myanmar since 1994 in order to help educate officials before
the first stock exchange is opened. 

Despite political uncertainty in Myanmar, more and more foreign
businesses are targeting the country amid renewed confidence that its
economy is gradually opening up.

Hisao Katsuta, general manager of the Daiwa Institute of Research in
Bangkok, said the company was confident that the future of Myanmar's
capital markets was promising.

"Currently, we are looking forward to government approval to establish
a stock market, which has been delayed for quite a while because the
securities business is new to Myanmar," said Mr Katsuta.

He added that the Myanmar Investment Corporation (MIC) is reviewing the
securities business and Daiwa's application, while the Attorney
General's Office is scrutinizing the Securities and Exchange Act. 

Meanwhile, Nobuya Saito, director and executive vice-president of Chao
Phaya Finance & Securities (CPY), said: "I personally believe in
Myanmar's potential especially since I visited there recently. Yamaichi
is also paying attention to Myanmar."

Mr Saito was appointed to sit on Chao Phaya's board as Yamaichi
Securities' representative. Yamaichi has a co-operation agreement with
Chao Phaya.

"Comparing Myanmar to Vietnam in terms of capital markets in the
future, I think the Myanmar capital market will grow more quickly than
that of Vietnam," said Mr Saito.

He explained that Myanmar is promising because as a former colony of
England, the country appears to be more familiar with capitalism and
capital markets.

"You can see British Commonwealth countries, like Singapore, Hong Kong
or Malaysia, where the capital markets are very big," said Mr Saito.

He said that the Myanmar government has now been relaxing its economic
system. 

When asked about security in Myanmar, he said he was not worried.
During his recent visit there, he said, security in Myanmar was
maintained very well with armed forces being deployed on alert at all
times.

"It is safer than the Philippines," he said.

"I think many brokers are aware of the economic potential in Myanmar.
In the future there should be foreign brokers opening their
representative offices in Myanmar," said Mr Saito. 

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