Delta, Daiwa back Myanmar plastic recycler

Yangon-based Delta is participating via its Myanmar Opportunities II, which closed at $70 million in 2018. Daiwa's portion comes from its Myanmar Growth Fund, which was set up last year with $30 million.

The plan is to make CPC the first food-grade bottle-to-bottle recycler in Myanmar through a technology build-out and a focus on advancing operating standards related to the handling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) products. This effort is expected to leverage a relatively high domestic PET bottle collection rate of 64%, according to a release.

Daiwa has framed the investment as part of its commitment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), noting that CPC would help Myanmar reduce its imports of virgin PET products. Per capita PET consumption in the country is set to grow 10-15% per year in the near term. Daiwa recently appointed Keiko Tashiro, a deputy president at the firm, as its head of SDGs.

About 150 million tons of plastic are dumped into the ocean a day, a figure growing by 8 million tons a year, which is equivalent to a garbage truck unloading every minute. More than half of this enters the ocean from Southeast Asia and China. Recent plastic recycling investment activity in the region includes Circulate Capital, a new VC dedicated to the segment, backing India’s Lucro and Indonesia’s Tridi Oasis.

Daiwa's Myanmar Growth Fund is co-managed by two of the Japanese investment banks' private equity units, Daiwa PI Partners and Daiwa Corporate Investment. Daiwa PI Partners and Delta teamed up earlier this year in a $26 million round for Myanmar internet service provider Frontiir.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Industrials
• Cleantech
• Expansion
• Myanmar
• Daiwa Securities SMBC Principal Investments
• manufacturing