A group of buyers from Germany and China visited Yangon in the second week of July to get an overview of the Myanmar garment industry and assess possibilities for cooperation. The visit was part of the business matchmaking activities of SMART Myanmar and the SMART project office in Yangon together with the Myanmar Garment association (MGMA), which organized several factory visits for buyers.

Mr. Christian Maag, managing director of company ESGE Textilwerk in Germany, and Mr. Kevin S.T. Yip, Managing director of HungfatKeme Co. Ltd, were both satisfied with the outcome of the trip. They said: “The level of the garment factories that we have seen was much better than similar companies in Bangladesh, Pakistan and even in India.”

ESGE, a family business rich in tradition, is producing under various brands underwear for ladies, men and kids and men`s nightwear. One of their business partners for more than 20 years is the company HungfatKeme Co. Ltd..Hungfat is producing underwear and fabrics in Puning/China and with the support of ESGE they started 2 years ago another production facility in Kampot/Cambodia.

The four day visit was mainly dedicated to factory visits in Yangon and surroundings but the group also assessed the situation in the newly opened special economic zones and got information from a local lawyer specialized in business issues such as the establishment of a company in Myanmar. Furthermore, discussions with the Chairman and the Executive Secretary of MGMA were part of the agenda.

Mr.Maag concluded: “This was definitely not our last trip to Myanmar. We saw some interesting garment manufacturers and will continue to work on our idea to establish a business partnership with one or maybe two of them.”