Strategy

The Company has targeted businesses with significant growth potential across a broad range of industries.

Our approach has been entrepreneurial with proactive engagement in all essential aspects of the business. We are not a private equity fund, though we do deploy a number of private equity appraisal techniques.

We have a clear strategy for Myanmar:

  • We have focused on our business development process and proactively managed risk minimisation/reward maximisation to seek to produce superior long term returns
    • Identifying sectors with strong growth
    • Identifying credible senior and line-management
    • De-risking the investment where necessary through bringing in new managers, mentors, strategic partners, etc.
  • Permanent capital has allowed us to optimise returns by making both long and short term investments

Our business investment decisions have been guided by the following criteria:

  • Majority or minority (with commensurate negative control provisions) equity investments
  • A clear path to positive cash flows and sustainable margins
  • Working capital efficient and/or receptive to leverage
  • Capable of becoming a top three player with strong franchise value in its sector, so we have backed:
    • Proven entrepreneurs in need of expansion capital and open to our corporate governance requirements
    • Foreign corporates looking for a strong local anchor to help them succeed in Myanmar

In essence our strategy has been to build net asset value per share as well as to generate dividends when it becomes commercially appropriate. Over time this should allow us to generate an attractive total return to our Shareholders.

The challenge has not been in finding the deals – opportunities abound – but in selecting the right partners and maintaining rigorous discipline throughout the business evaluation process.