Every year, unsafe food and water kill more people worldwide than HIV, AIDS, malaria and measles combined, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Of the approximately 600 million people who fall ill after eating contaminated food, 420,000 die. Food safety—the practices occurring along the entire food chain to ensure food does not […]
Myanmar’s urban dwellers get a taste of credit
More consumers in urban Myanmar are taking out loans to buy electronics, cars, even homes. A purple logo — that of Japan’s Aeon Financial Service, a provider of small loans to consumers who pay back the money in installments — is becoming easy to spot at one Yangon shopping center, especially at appliance and cellphone […]
The land of the $20 smartphone
“This one $40, this one $30 … that one $20!” The owner of the street stall, a man of about 30 years wearing a traditional longyi tied around his waist, is gesturing at a phone that looks, to my eyes, like a mid-range Android phone. It bears the brand Singtech, a brand among myriad others […]
Fee increase hits Yangon liquor sellers
Liquor businesspeople may be reaching for the bottle for consolation after Yangon Region’s decision to raise the annual licence fees that shops and manufacturers must pay to operate. Fees will significantly increase for a range of different liquor manufacturers and sellers after legislation was passed on September 1, with licences for beer manufacturers increasing the […]
Middle and Affluent Class in Vietnam and Myanmar Will Double in Size by 2020
HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM–(Marketwired – Dec 18, 2013) – The middle and affluent class will double in size in Vietnam and Myanmar between now and 2020, according to a publication by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Consumers in these two Southeast Asian countries are also among the most optimistic in the world — more […]
Myanmar under the microscope
Market research multinational TNS sets up shop in Yangon and says lots of companies want to know what makes local consumers tick. Myanmar’s first international licensed market research consultancy now has more than 10 international clients, after carrying out the largest ever consumer studies in the country. Jason Copland and the TNS Myanmar team pose […]