Extraordinary Endeavors in Turbulent Times: Asian Innovation, Inclusion, and Impact during COVID-19

ASIA BUSINESS COUNCIL HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Yoma Group (Myanmar) Extraordinary Endeavors in Turbulent Times Yoma Group (Myanmar) Accelerating Financial Inclusion in a Time of Social Distancing ByWinnie Peng, Pauline Yeung, Chun Hei Hung, and Theodore Chow The following case study is based on written correspondence with Yoma Group in December 2020, an interview with Melvyn Pun, CEO and Executive Director of Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd., on December 18, and an interview with Brad Jones, CEO of Wave Money, on December 17. Introduction “For us, it is really about having a strong engagement with the local community and ensuring that no matter what we do, we can build a better Myanmar for its people. It is not just about building better infrastructure and better buildings, but also about how you help the people,” said Melvyn Pun, CEO and Executive Director of Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd. “And rather than doing this as a separate corporate social responsibility program, we want to imbed this into everything that we do and contribute to solving economic inequality.” A Cambridge graduate who spent 12 years at Goldman Sachs before joining the family business, Pun exuded a quiet confidence when articulating the vision of Yoma Group, 1 which was founded by his father, Serge Pun. As Pun explained, after weighing the good and bad things that resulted from the pandemic, and considering Yoma’s role in enabling and accelerating financial inclusion in Myanmar, COVID-19 was in many ways a “positive defining moment” for Yoma as one of the leading conglomerates in the country. While Yoma is involved in industries ranging from real estate, automotive and heavy equipment, food and beverage, to investments, it was its financial services business, and specif- ically its mobile financial services arm, Wave Money, that was instrumental in promoting financial inclusion in Myanmar. What unfolded in 2020 was a truly remarkable story that has touched the lives of farmers, garment workers, street vendors, and small business owners across the country, Asia Business Council Yoma Group Year of Founding 1983 Headquarters Yangon Type of Company Conglomerate Number of Employees 11,000 Total Revenues in 2019 (K)* Kyat 427 billion † Total Revenues in 2019 (USD)* $321 million Major Businesses Real Estate, Automotive & Heavy Equipment, F&B, Financial Services, Healthcare, Hotel and Tourism, Logistics, Investments COVID-19 Initiatives in a Nutshell Acquisition of Controlling Stake in Mobile Financial Services Provider Wave Money, A Digital Platform for the Government, Humanitarian Orga - nizations and Corporates to Deliver Aid to Individuals and Communities Hard Hit by the Pandemic * FY 2019, from the period April 2018 to March 2019 † As per the exchange rate of Central Bank Myanmar (1 USD = 1330 MMK)