YANGON- Yangon Government had offered the Shwe Than Lwin Company to purchase the shares equivalent to 200 school buses about three months ago, according to Kyaw Win of Shwe Than Lwin (STL) who is also the Chairman of Myanmar Licensed Constructors Association at the meeting on founding of School Bus Public Company held yesterday.
The STL will be buying Ks 5.5 billion worth of shares , according to Ba Nyar Zaw, Central Executive Committee Member of Myanmar Licensed Constructors Association.
“Myanmar Licensed Contractors Public Company was offered the rights to run Yangon School Bus service. So, the Board of Director held a meeting about the share purchase. At that time, we explained explicitly our plan to the relevant government committee and Yangon Road Transport Authority- YRTA. Our Company isn’t in the business of running the bus lines service. The businessmen that were operating school bus services attended the meeting. If we will invest in the school bus services, the businessmen may think that we are to take over or at least disrupt their businesses. That’s why we clearly told the Yangon Government Committee and the YRTA that the school bus service would be carried out in collaboration with enterprises already in service,” said Kyaw Win.
Although the STL can operate the school bus services without offering cooperation towards other school bus owners, they invited them with the aim to form the public company for cooperation of school bus services. Everybody will be able to buy a share starting Ks 10,000 per piece at the public company, Kyaw Win added.
“We earned Ks 400,000 per month from a rental school bus. It quickly runs out by the end of the month. If the public company gets formed, can we still earn that monthly income? We know that public companies will pay by the monthly income per year. In doing so, what will we eat with within 11 or 12 months of being unpaid? Even if its a 1, 2 or 3 months interval, it will be difficult to sustain. ” commented Latt Latt on the formation of the public company, one such business owner that is running the school bus services.
At present, Yangon Government Committee invested Ks 10.5 billion in School bus services. The lawmakers posed questions at the parliament on the unclear nature of whether the loans Ks 5.5 billion of aforementioned 10.5 billion were borrowed by the private company Shwe Latt or the Yangon Region Government.
Amidst uncertainty, some officials from Yangon Licensed Contractors Association started saying that they would buy Ks 5.5 billion in shares of school bus service.
“We must form the public company for the purchase of 200 school buses. Whether or not current school bus owners are keen to invest in our public company or get involved. The STL would nevertheless buy Ks 5.5 billion in shares,” said Kyaw Win.
Myanmar Licensed Contractors Public Company is ready to sign the MoU for the Ks 5.5 billion purchase offered by Yangon Government Committee. According to Ba Nyar Zaw, a Memorandum of Agreement-MoA will be signed near soon after smaller, detailed negotiations were done.
“Yangon Government bought 200 school buses. Currently, 65 buses each are now running at Yankin TTC and Kamaryut TTC. Yangon Government said that they bought all of them for Ks 10.5 billion. Within that amount, Ks 5.5 billion were borrowed from a bank. We will be purchasing shares in that,” said Ba Nyar Zaw.
Yangon Region Government took a loan of Ks 8 billion from Ayeyawady Bank to purchase public use buses and Ks 5.5 billion from Kanbawza Bank to buy school buses without first seeking the approval of the Yangon Region Parliament.
