DRIVEN by rising demand from its local partners, Germany’s Evonik Industries AG, a manufacturer of specialty chemicals, plans to expand its business in Myanmar, said Peter Meinshausen, the firm’s president for the Asia Pacific/South region.
“We want to understand the very early development stage of a young economy, which direction it takes, and which role we can play. That is why we are engaged with Myanmar,” he said in an exclusive interview.
According to Meinshausen, geo-politics matters when it comes to expansion of Evonik’s business in the region.
“In the next decade, Asia is for sure the most interesting and active area in the world. The largest economy in Asia will be China where everybody is focusing on. We believe we have to look what is happening outside of China, and then Southeast Asian economies come into play,” he said.
“Myanmar is a good part of Asia, thanks to its strategic location in Southeast Asia. This market is really interesting, and that is why we are here and seriously looking into expansion of our portfolio.”
Meinshausen said the firm would focus on four key sectors while looking at opportunities to expand in other promising areas. Currently, animal nutrition, coatings and paints industry, healthcare and personal care as well as household care products are on top of the firm’s expansion strategy.
As a multinational company, Evonik has partnered with domestic and foreign firms to distribute a wide range of its products into the Myanmar market. To date, the firm has more than 10 business partners including big names like the United Paints Group.
“We love working with our local partners because they know the market well. It is really important for us to understand the mechanisms of a market first,” he said.
“We need to make sure that we get to know the legal framework and totally understand what we can do in Myanmar. We are looking very closely at the latest developments in Myanmar. We see an investor-friendly environment here, and our strategic approach is really long-term.”
Meinshausen believes in the young population of Myanmar who are energetic, enthusiastic and eager to learn new things. He foresees full-fledged business operations in Myanmar in the next few years, though it has yet to establish an office in the country.
“We have to be active. It is more important than being fast. If you are too speedy, you rush and then you fail. We are here to avoid it. We need to observe, then we will be on top of the opportunities that are developing,” he said.
Meinshausen said the firm would invest in grooming local talents so they can ultimately have their own infrastructure and own employees.
“Ultimately, it is important for us to have our own people here. That is why we invest in people. Things are developing nicely, and I can imagine our set-up will change in the next three years,” he said.
