Olympus Capital Asia, a pan-Asia equity investment firm, and Panko Corporation, a prominent clothing manufacturing and exporting company from South Korea, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the development of a 500-acre garment zone in Myanmar which would become the first of its kind in the country.
The clothing industrial estate will be implemented through a joint venture agreement between Panko and Olympus Capital Asia, which has been investing in middle market companies across Asia including those in South Korea, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia.
The project that will boast an international standard wastewater treatment system is planned to start within one year with completion expected in three years. Currently the developers are considering the location of the zone which would likely be in Yangon, Bago, or Ayeyarwady region.
The Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA) expects to earn $10 billion from garment exports under the Cut-Make-Pack (CMP) system in adecade. Future factories in the planned garment park will operate under the Freight-on-Board (FOB) system.
MGMA envisions around 1,500 factories in operation in garment industry by 2025, according to Myint Soe, the chairman of the organisation. The export value from the garment sector reached $1.65 billion last year, slightly expanding from the year earlier during which the volume was $1.4 billion.
A Myanmar Textile Manufacturers Association was also recently launched following a year long discussion about establishing a specific textile-related body.
