Index Creative Village holds off on Myanmar projects until new govt in place
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While waiting to see the economic impact from the power transfer in Myanmar to a popularly elected government from the military-led regime, Index Creative Village has decided to put some of its projects planned for next year in the neighbouring country on
“We have been told by our business partners in Yangon that they want to make sure that the political situation is right on track with a smooth transition,” said Kriangkrai Kanjanapokin, co-chief executive of the event organising company.
“According to Myanmar’s political timeline, a new president is expected to be named, while the new cabinet will be formed after March.”
Given this uncertainty, several projects will be put on hold during that period, he said without elaborating.
Index Creative Village already has a strong presence in Myanmar through its joint venture with the media powerhouse Forever Group.
Its activities there run from exhibitions, trade fairs and marketing events to TV production and cultural shows. It also has partners in Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Under its Asean Wings strategy, the company is putting more weight on the CLMV countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) in boosting its business while the domestic market is winding down.
“Our next destination is Cambodia,” Kriangkrai said.
The firm through ICVeX will organise the First International Exhibition on Building Materials, Architecture, Interior Design, Furniture and Decor, or Architect & Decor 2016, in Phnom Penh.
Endorsed by Cambodia’s Commerce Ministry, Bangkok-based ICVeX and the Cambodian Society of Architects will be the joint hosts. They expect to showcase more than 100 local and international companies.
“We anticipate good feedback from traders and exhibitors. Bookings have reached more than 80 per cent of the total available exhibition space,” he said.
Cambodia was a promising market for the construction and property industry mainly driven by state developments such as DI Riviera and Olympic City. Overall supply in Phnom Penh is expected to surge by 533 per cent by 2018.
In the home market, the value of this year’s event industry is expected to stay at Bt12.3 billion, but next year will see an improvement due to the series of economic stimulus measures rolled out by the government, Kriangkrai said.
