ACO investment prepares for $700m spending spree in Myanmar

New York-based buyout firm ACO Investment is reportedly set to inject $700m into Myanmar in an attempt to capitalise on the South East Asian country’s economic potential.
ACO co-founder Hari Achuthan told Bloomberg the firm plans to put $200m in the Yangon International Airport and offer $500m for two telecommunication licences in the country.
The Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications Ministry plans to award the licences in June with Singapore Telecommunications, Malaysia’s Axiata Group and Norway’s Telenor ASA named among likely bidders.
The investments will be made out of ACO’s new global infrastructure fund, it said.
Myanmar has recently opened itself up for foreign investors by implementing democratic reforms, which have prompted the US and Europe to lift previously imposed sanctions against the country.
Back in October KPMG became the first of the ‘big four’ professional services firms to expand into Myanmar. In September that year, Myanmar-based private equity firm Bagan Capital opened an office in the capital city of Nay Pyi Taw.
Achuthan said, “What we’re looking for is a frontier market that has a tremendous amount of growth ahead of it.
“In the Asian markets, if you’re looking for growth, we would rather look at Myanmar versus the saturated markets of Thailand or Indonesia.”
He added that whilst investing in Myanmar is risky, the potential rewards are much higher than in countries that are perceived as safer.
Achuthan also revealed that the firm is considering investing $500m in a solar farm and a further $200m in a wind farm project in Vietnam and looking at potential bids for airports in Chicago and Turkey.
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