Myanmar has been primarily under military control for decades. However, the National League for Democracy, the political party led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won enough seats in the parliament to be able to form a government in November 2015, which started the gradual move from military rule to democracy. In March 2016, the
Myanmar has been primarily under military control for decades. However, the National League for Democracy, the political party led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won enough seats in the parliament to be able to form a government in November 2015, which started the gradual move from military rule to democracy. In March 2016, the country elected their first civilian president, Htin Kyaw, to office.
ONGOING EXPANSION
The economy of the country is experiencing changes as more investments flowed into the country. Countries, such as China, have invested into many areas in Myanmar, including pipelines connecting China to the coast of Myanmar as well as dams built across the country.
Japan has made much investments, notably the recently signed agreement to extend the area it is developing in the special economic zone (SEZ) located in Thilawa. Currently there are 33 Japanese companies that are approved investors in the SEZ which includes Suzuki Motor, Seiji and Nippon Kouatsu Electric.
In recent years, Myanmar has seen a rise in the number of foreign visitors arriving in the country. The Ministry of Hotel and Tourism reported that there were around 4.7 million tourist arrivals in 2015. The top three countries to visit Myanmar were Thailand, China and Japan.
With the increase in number of tourists, plans have been made to accommodate this growth. According to Oxford Business Group, Yangon International Airport is expecting an expansion of its facilities which will increase its capacity from two million to eight million passengers by 2019. Plans has also been made to construct the new Hanthawaddy International Airport, located 80 kilometers northeast of Yangon. The new airport is due to be completed in 2020 and expects to handle 12 million passengers yearly.
Construction of hotels has seen much growth with several projects recently been completed or nearing completion. A report from Colliers International stated that the city of Yangon represents more than one-third of the hotels in the country. Many of the hotel projects, such as Daewoo Amara Hotel, Center Point Grand Hotel and Sheraton Yangon Hotel, are geared toward upper-end segments of the hospitality market.
UPDATING SECURITY TECHNOLOGY
These developments have in turn influenced the security market in the country. Lawrence Guzman, VP of APAC at Vicon Industries, pointed out that “As the market has opened up along with infrastructure development, the affordability to invest in security equipment is obvious. We are seeing that the decision makers are also looking at quality and price/performance factors, along with overall integrated solutions, and not necessarily just low-priced products.”
This growth in security is expected to increase this year as more customers are gaining access to better security technology. “We envision it to continue as the markets mature and further embrace IP video and security technologies,” said Guzman.
Jimmy Ma, General Manager at GD Security Trading, also sees an increase in number of users transitioning away from analog technology. Ma said that last year he saw many end users begin to switch out old analog surveillance systems with HD CCTV and believes that more will be doing so in the coming new year.
As a local distributor, GD Security Trading understands the importance of having reliable security. Formed in 2011, the company is responsible for supplying security products to local systems integrator in Myanmar. To help further educate SIs in the field, the company would participate in road shows and work with manufacturers to give training for local SIs in order to give them a better understanding on how to implement effective security systems.
However, since the security industry is still developing, some SIs perform double duties in order to accomplish its projects. “The market is still a small market so most of the items we are using right now may not have pure distributors. Companies like us form a hybrid model, sometimes we act like a distributor, sometimes we become the SI. So we don't have a pure distributor here,” said Aung Lynn Thway, Director at Naung Yoe Technologies, a company started in 2005 that focuses primarily on video surveillance. “NYT is currently providing IT and extra-low voltage (ELV) solutions as well as building management systems with over 150 employees partnering with multinational manufacturers,” said Thway.