The dust has settled in Naypyitaw, where a government led by the National League for Democracy has replaced the quasi-democratic, military-backed regime of President Thein Sein. With some of the political uncertainty about the country's future now shelved and the economy in good shape Myanmar is arguably primed for economic takeoff.
Gross domestic product grew by an annual 7.2% in 2015 and is forecast to achieve 8.4% growth in 2016, the Asian Development Bank estimates. And yet, faced with a myriad of internal challenges after 50 years of military rule, Myanmar remains a frontier market, ripe for pioneering private equity investors but perhaps not for more mainstream investors, however large.
PE firms are starting to make an impact, although challenges remain even for these daring risk-takers. TPG Capital, one of the world's largest PE fund managers, has clinched two sizeable deals in Myanmar, including an investment in early 2014 in Apollo Towers Myanmar, a telecommunications infrastructure provider, and the purchase of 50% of Myanmar Distillery Company, one of the country's largest spirits producers, in December. (Courtesy of Nikkei Asian Review)
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