The Philippines’ oldest and largest conglomerate Ayala Corp has formed a partnership with Myanmar’s leading supermarket chain City Mart Holdings to tap Asia’s last frontier’s booming property market.
The real estate arm of Ayala will team up with City Mart for a mixed-use project in Yangon, Paolo Borromeo, head of corporate strategy and development group at Ayala Corp, told reporters at a recent briefing in Manila.
However, he said the companies are yet to finalise the details of the project.
“I think what City Mart wants to do is they have properties that they want to convert. If I’m not mistaken, they plan retail establishments in Yangon,” Borromeo was quoted as saying in Filipino media.
Early this year, the property developer said it would undertake a $30-million residential development in Myanmar in partnership with a local company.
Ayala’s move comes as part of its efforts to expand its footprint in Southeast Asia.
City Mart Holdings operates multiple retail formats in Myanmar, including supermarkets, bakeries, cafes, pharmacies, baby accessories and convenience stores. The group’s founder and manager director, Tint Win Win, also founded the Pahtama Group in 1997, one of the leading distributor of consumer products in Myanmar.