Tuesday, 25 December 2012

Index Creative Village focus turns to Myanmar

Index Creative Village aims to lift the standards of the event-organising industry in Myanmar, seek more business opportunities in Vietnam and expand to other Indochina countries in the future.

The company has already established a presence in Myanmar as Myanmar Index Creative Village. MICV, together with its local partner Forever Group, recently launched a Bt35-million project to organise Myanmar's first-ever New Year's countdown.


"Index Creative Village wants not only to organise events but also to educate people on forming international standard events," co-CEO Kriangkrai Kanjanapoki said at a press briefing.

The Myanmar operation's service scope will be similar, from events, exhibitions and conferences to marketing activities. Equipment rental, construction, exhibition and research will also be available there.

Myanmar Index Creative Village started up in the beginning of this year by focusing 70-80 per cent on events for the private sector and 20-30 per cent on government-supported projects.

The countdown is not the first event MICV has undertaken in Myanmar. It has already held two big events - Myanmar Academy Award 2011 and Union Day 2012.

Since it has been in Myanmar for awhile, MICV shared its experience in setting up a business in the country for a Thai company, saying challenges remain.

"Business registration is not easy due to changes in laws and regulations. People also still lack know-how, so getting the same standard is quite difficult," Narindej Thaveesangpanich, Asean director at Index Creative Village, told The Nation.

Problems of electricity shortages and stage construction are |considered hurdles for event organisers.

Yet, there are several factors that could lead to success in doing business in Myanmar.

"Being the first mover, we gained a lot of experience and a lot of benefit as well," he said.

Other factors are choosing the right business partner, nurturing connections and training local staff.

The main rivals in this region for MICV are companies from Singapore. However, for the Myanmar market, Thailand has an advantage in being Myanmar's neighbour.

"Logistics-wise, we can ship equipment from Thailand to Myanmar by using land connectivity," he said.

In Vietnam, Index Creative Village with its partner formed TVM Index in June. The service offered in Vietnam is only event management.

"Unlike Myanmar, the market in Vietnam is quite ready. We don't invest there," he said.

More creativity and international standards are the keys for the Vietnam market.

Myanmar and Vietnam offer huge opportunities, with the event industry in Myanmar expected to grow 20 per cent per year and in Vietnam 10 per cent per year. However, the market in Thailand will be stable next year.

The company's turnover for this year is Bt2.8 billion.

As the Asean Economic Community set to be in full implementation in 2015, Index Creative Village sees Thailand as the head of this industry in upper Asean.

"The model for us is to look at the market as a region with Thailand as a hub of creativity in upper Asean. Besides Myanmar and Vietnam, we plan to expand to other countries in Asean by considering land connectivity as a priority " he added.
 
source: Eleven Myanmar

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