AVCJ

TLG Capital bets on Myanmar cruise company

  • Susannah Birkwood
  • LinkedIn  
  • Google plus  
  • Save this article  

UK private equity firm TLG Capital is reportedly planning to establish a company that will operate cruises in Myanmar, investing via its holding in Compagnie Fluviale du Mekong, one of Cambodia's oldest river cruise businesses.

According to Reuters, small cap-focused TLG is currently conducting due diligence with a view to starting running cruises on the upper Irrawaddy River in 2013. It is expected to invest several million dollars.

Naidah Yazdani, general manager of Fluviale du Mekong, said Myanmar still needs to prove it is open to foreign capital, though. "They have to show a commitment to attract more foreign direct investment," he said. "As soon as that happens, there'll be investment from all over the world."

News of TLG's interest comes after sanctions against Myanmar were eased by the US earlier this month and the European Union over the last few months in the wake of the nation's first democratic by-elections since Aung San Suu Kyi was refused the right to govern Myanmar (then Burma) in 1990.

Recent activity out of Cambodia showcases the opportunities in frontier markets, in spite of the risks and uncertainties that these countries also present. In January, Leopard Capital, through its Leopard Cambodia Fund, took a 33.7% stake in Intean Poalroath Rongroeurng (IPR), a Cambodian microfinance firm.

  • LinkedIn  
  • Google plus  
  • Save this article  

More on Southeast Asia

Latest News

world-hands-globe-climate-esg
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey

Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...

  • GPs