Page 47 - myanmar

Consumers’ spending potential
Myanmar is home to Asia’s newest middle class. This is a market that has not previously had a middle class to speak of; for decades there has simply been the ruling elite, and then everyone else.
With the gradual opening up of the country since 2011, and a loosening of the military’s grip on the country’s finances, wealth has slowly begun to spread, and a real consumer class is beginning to emerge.
About 28 per cent of people live in urban areas, and it is here where, as with other fast-growth markets, that change is happening soonest. In the case of Myanmar, economic
development and personal wealth is likely to grow first and fastest in the two biggest cities, Yangon and Mandalay.
The Boston Consulting Group predicts that the ‘middle and affluent class’ will comprise 10.3 million people by 2020.
Of course, wealth is relative in a developing market, and BCG’s forecasts include anyone with a monthly per capita income of more than $120. But at this level, people can cover their
living costs and start to enjoy discretionary spend – and this is the area of opportunity.
In addition, there are many far more affluent consumers earning significantly more money than
that benchmark $120, and they make up a larger portion of the population than do wealthy people in the generally richer neighboring markets of Vietnam and Thailand.
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