UOB to offer onshore loan in Myanmar to finance hotel project

UOB said on Wednesday it will offer an onshore loan in Myanmar, making it the first foreign bank operating in Yangon to do so.

The loan, the size of which is undisclosed, will be given to Rangoon Excelsior Company, a French-Myanmar joint venture company. The loan will finance the refurbishment of a former colonial building in downtown Yangon into a five-storey hotel.

Ian Wong, head of strategy and international management at UOB, noted that the hospitality sector in Myanmar will be a key industry for the bank.

"The financing of a new hotel in Yangon is in line with our approach of supporting businesses that are helping to drive the development of Myanmar. As tourism is expected to be a main contributor of new jobs in Myanmar over the next decade, we are keen to partner companies such as Rangoon Excelsior in helping to build the necessary tourism infrastructure to support the growth of this sector," Mr Wong said.

In October last year, nine banks from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Japan and Australia were awarded provisional banking licences to operate in Myanmar. UOB and OCBC received the licences.