The online commerce trend is growing rapidly around the globe.  As the Internet offers a convenient means of communication, the digital world has become a significant part of people's lives today.  The growing response to social media communication is one of the factors driving the exponential growth of e-commerce businesses in Myanmar.  

The people of Myanmar today are familiar with buying and selling online due to convenient Internet access.  A survey conducted by the government has shown that there were a total of 68 million phone numbers, accounting for 126% of Myanmar’s total population of 54 million.  This statistic means that some are using more than one mobile phone, reflecting how greatly better communications have influenced the people of Myanmar.  In the past, it was quite difficult to own a phone number as SIM cards were costly.  However, SIM cards are much cheaper nowadays and most people own smartphones.  With 4G Internet and telephone networks in Myanmar, access to the Internet via smartphones has become a way of life, especially in the city of Yangon, where 4G covers 80% of the area, ranking in the top four in ASEAN after Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia. Another survey by DataReportal revealed that there were 22 million Internet users as of January 2020, and most of them use social media as their primary medium.

In 2019, the government focused on promoting the development of the digital economy by determining the Myanmar Digital Economy Roadmap and forming a Digital Economy Development Committee (DEDC) in an effort to drive the nation’s digital economy forward. According to the plan, the government will focus on nine key sectors comprising education; health; agriculture sector; fisheries and livestock; tourism manufacturing and SMEs; financial services; technology sector and startup promotion; e-commerce; and transportation and logistics by aiming to increase online transactions in parallel with the development of the 5G network.  Moreover, online business will be embraced as a means to save the environment, reduce pollution, and reduce the need for new buildings.   

The Myanmar Times also reported the increasing popularity of social media usage, such as Facebook, including entertainment streaming services like Netflix, VIU, iFlix, and Joox, or Arcade for games.  

Apart from Facebook’s Marketplaces, the top four popular websites (ranked by Myanmar as of 7 April 2020) used by Myanmar entrepreneurs and retailers to promote and sell their products online are: 

1. Alibaba Group’s Shop.com.mm  is one of Myanmar’s largest e-commerce platforms in Myanmar and features cutting-edge technology.  Launched in 2012, the application boasts some 30,000 sellers, over 500 brands, over 2 million products, and 5 million customers.  It features diversified payment systems, including cash on delivery and weekly campaigns for customers. 
   
   
2. Spree.com.mm Founded in 2015, proclaims to be an all-in-one application offering simple, convenient, fast, and secure features suitable for both buyers and sellers. There are more than 30 types of quality products listed.  The company has offices located in Singapore and Thailand to expand its market throughout Southeast Asia. 
   
   
3. Barlolo Founded in 2016 by 3KO Ventures.Barlolo has a team of experienced executives specializing in e-commerce.  Its website has been designed to cater to the needs of local people while allowing local entrepreneurs to sell their products for free.  Each month, the website has some 50,000 visitors and more than 1,000 Myanmar sellers. 
   
   
4. Metro a German online wholesale business, specializes in fresh food,  processed food products, and kitchenware with a virtual "one-stop" convenient shopping experience for customers.   Having expanded to more than 36 countries worldwide, the company entered the market in mid-March 2019 with a modern warehouse of 5,800 square meters located in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone.  The company is well-known for its state-of-the-art storage and logistics technology.

It is evident that the people of Myanmar have strongly embraced online habits.  They have fully taken advantage of Internet access and modern communication technology in their daily lives, with online shopping gaining popularity.  Myanmar is becoming a new destination for foreign investors with increasing employment and wages.  These positive factors are favorable for Thai entrepreneurs keen to invest in Myanmar, which is becoming a more and more lucrative market enjoying growing purchasing power.

Siam Commercial Bank is the only Thai bank granted a license to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary Bank by the Central Bank of Myanmar.  Under this subsidiary license, Siam Commercial Bank Myanmar can operate a full commercial banking business as a local bank with a full array of services for large corporations, SMEs, and retail clients.  The Bank can also add up to ten branches in important business areas.  Siam Commercial Bank Myanmar began providing services for corporate customers at the end of 2020 and for individual customers from 2021.    
 

Thai entrepreneurs seeking to invest in Myanmar can contact the Siam Commercial Bank Myanmar office located in Yangon’s central business center for more information on trade, investment, and transactional banking.  

               

Sources: 

1. SCB Economic Intelligence Center, “E-commerce: New business opportunities for Thai businesses in CLMV” (7 May 2020)

2. วิกิพีเดีย สารานุกรมเสรี. “ประเทศพม่า.” https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%9B%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B0%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%B2 (7/5/2020)

3.  DITP, Weekly highlights (15-20 September 2019), https://www.ditp.go.th/ditp_web61/article_sub_view.php?filename=contents_attach/563676/563676.pdf&title=563676&cate=565&d=0 (7/5/2020)

4. Data Reportal. “Digital 2020:Myanmar.” https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2020-myanmar (7/5/2020)

5. Myanmar Times. “Five tech trends in Myanmar 2020.” https://www.mmtimes.com/news/five-tech-trends-myanmar-2020.html (7/5/2020)

6. Thaibiz Myanmar.com. “China’s Alibaba Group owned Shop.com.mm, an online shopping platform in Myanmar grew rapidly in Myanmar.” http://www.thaibizmyanmar.com/th/news/detail.php?ID=2708 (7/5/2020)

7.  Spree.com.mm. https://spree.com.mm/index.php (7/5/2020)

8. Shop.com.mm https://www.shop.com.mm/ (7/5/2020)

9. Balolo.com. https://barlolo.com/about-barlolo (8/5/2020)

10. The Nation Thailand. “E-Commerce operator Balolo aims for full Myanmar reach.” https://www.nationthailand.com/Corporate/30351585 (8/5/2020)

11. Hsu Myat Lin Naing. “The Yangon online shopping guide.” https://www.myanmore.com/2020/04/the-yangon-online-shopping-guide/ (7/5/2020)

12. Metro. https://metro-wholesale.com/page/about-us (7/5/2020)