Thailand-based steel producer Millcon Steel Pcl has joined with local conglomerate Thiha Group to set up a joint venture in its regional growth push.
Millcon will hold 51 percent stake in the JV, Millcon Thiha Co, while Thiha Group will hold the rest.
The new firm will engage in the trading business focusing on steel and construction materials, Thai media reported.
Sittichai Leeswadtrakup, president and CEO, said the company has proceeded with the registration of the new company in Myanmar following its board’s approval of the joint venture.
Millcon, which is one of Thailand’s leading producers and distributors of steel products, said it sees vast opportunities and strong growth with the opening up of Myanmar ahead of the ASEAN Economic Community, which is set to launch in 2015.
According to different estimates, Myanmar’s population of about 60 million consumes 19 kilograms of steel per person per year, 1.33 million tonnes a year, while Thailand’s 65 million consumes 17.7 million tonnes, a vast gap that has lured many construction materials firms.
Several construction products company, especially from Japan, Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand, has already ventured into Myanmar’s booming construction sector, which was in shambles for decades due to a stagnant economy.
