Myanmar Strategic - Opening of Yangon American International School

Asia Strategic Holdings

19/08/2019 07:00

RNS Number : 4120J

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd

19 August 2019

 

19 August 2019

 

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd.

 

("MSH" or the "Company" or the "Group")

 

Opening of Yangon American International School

 

Myanmar Strategic Holdings (LSE: SHWE), an independent developer and manager of consumer businesses located in Myanmar, is pleased to announce that the Yangon American International School ("Yangon American"), the Company's first international school, officially opened on Monday 19 August 2019. This follows on from the successful refurbishment of Yangon American on schedule and within budget, as announced on 9 May 2019.

The school is based in Yangon and has a 25,000 square foot campus. Student enrolment for the school has already exceeded 50 students to date, consisting of local and international students in Nursery (age two to three) through Grade 3 (age eight to nine). With a planned maximum capacity of up to 400 students, it is the school's ambition to increase the number of students and add an additional grade level each year, expanding up to Grade 12 (age 17 to 18) over the years.

Yangon American was designed to meet the strong demand among local and expatriate parents for a top-tier, yet affordable international school. The school will offer an American integrated standards-based curriculum through Common Core State Standards. This curriculum is used across the USA and at international schools throughout the world. The teaching staff comprises of highly experienced, credentialed teachers from the USA with a recognised Bachelor or Master's Degree. Yangon American will continue to recruit teachers for the school over the next few years as it grows.

Yangon American's students are also provided with best in class facilities and services with food provided by Novotel Yangon Max, on-site medical services provided by International SOS and integrated security and facility management services provided by EXERA, a subsidiary of the Group.

Commenting, Enrico Cesenni, Chief Executive Officer of Myanmar Strategic Holdings, said: "We are delighted to announce the start of full operations at our first international school, the Yangon American International School located in Yangon, Myanmar.

"We believe the international school offers a fantastic opportunity for children in Yangon; one which would not have previously been available to them, and we look forward to the prospect of growing the school and increasing the number of students that will no doubt benefit from the provision of globally-recognised education.

"The launch of the school highlights the Company's continued growth as an industry leader in the education sector and as source of responsible investment in Myanmar, where there remains overwhelming demand for services addressing primary needs.

"The Board has always remained focused upon investments into sectors that benefit the livelihoods of the local population, while remaining financially attractive. In this vein, we continue to pursue further opportunities, such as those similar to Yangon American, and look forward to updating the market in due course on such developments."

 

For more information please visit www.ms-holdings.com or contact:

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd.
Richard Greer, Independent Non-Executive Chairman
Enrico Cesenni, Founder and CEO

richardgreer@me.com
enrico@ms-holdings.com
Allenby Capital Limited (Broker)
Nick Athanas
Nick Naylor
Nicholas Chambers
+44 (0)20 3328 5656
Yellow Jersey PR (Financial PR)
Felicity Winkles
Henry Wilkinson
+44 (0)20 3004 9512

 

Notes to editors

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd.

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd. is an independent developer and manager of consumer businesses located in Myanmar, one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The Company's portfolio currently focuses on Education, Services and Hospitality with the view to expand within the broader consumer sector in Myanmar.

Education sector: the Company currently has exclusive development and franchising agreements with Wall Street English for ten English language centres across Myanmar over the course of the ten-year agreement. Two centres were opened in 2017 and a third was opened in August 2018. In August 2019, MSH announced the planned launch of a fourth Wall Street English centre in Mandalay. As of March 2019, Wall Street English Myanmar served ca. 1,400 students. Through the franchise, MSH also partnered with the Directorate of Company Administration in Myanmar to provide English language courses to its civil servants.   

The Company also operates a joint venture with Auston Institute of Management to develop and operate the Auston College Myanmar. The private school opened in May 2018 offering diplomas in Engineering Technology, Construction Project Management and Networking, Information Systems, and Security. English language learning is also provided by the Company's nearby Wall Street English centre.

The Company has also launched its first international school, the Yangon American International School in Yangon, in August 2019.  

Services sector: through its acquisition of EXERA, the Company now offers security, risk management and secure logistics services, including cash-in-transit. Founded in 2013, EXERA employs approximately 1,100 guards making it one of the largest security services providers in Myanmar.

Hospitality sector: through its portfolio, the Company currently manages over 470 beds across four boutique hotels in three core tourist locations across Myanmar, operating under the award winning Ostello Bello budget hospitality brand. MSH operates an asset light strategy, entering into long-term operating and management agreements with local hotel owners.

Myanmar was one of the fastest growing economies in Asia in 2017 and 2018 (Source: Asian Development Bank). In 2019, its annual GDP growth is expected to be about 7% (Source: Asian Development Bank), making it one of the fastest growing economies in the world.  

MSH is well positioned to provide investors early exposure to Myanmar's strong economic fundamentals enhanced by ASEAN's wider growth prospects. 

 

 

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