Proposed share issuance programme & loan facility

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain

1 July 2019

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd.

("MSH" or the "Company" or the "Group")

Proposed share issuance programme and loan facility

The Board of Myanmar Strategic Holdings (LSE: SHWE), an independent developer and manager of consumer businesses located in Myanmar, is pleased to announce the launch of a share issuance programme (the "Share Issuance Programme") for up to four hundred and eighty thousand (480,000) new ordinary shares in the Company over the next 12 months.

The Share Issuance Programme is being implemented to provide the Company with flexibility should it wish to raise further capital as new investment opportunities arise in Myanmar over the next 12 months and to provide the Company with additional working capital.  It is the intention of the Directors of the Company that no shares will be issued under the Share Issuance Programme at an issue price which is less than US$20 per share. The proposed issue price for the Share Issuance Programme compares to the closing mid-market price of US$10.5 for the Company's ordinary shares on 28 June 2019.

The Directors believe that instituting the Share Issuance Programme will:

·   allow the Company to increase the speed at which it can scale-up and expand the Group's existing operations in the education and services divisions;

·   enable the Company to raise additional capital quickly, in order to take advantage of investment opportunities that have been identified and which may be identified in the future; and

·   partially satisfy market demand from time to time for the Company's shares and improve liquidity in the market for the Company's shares.

Further announcements in respect of the Share Issuance Programme will be made by the Company at the appropriate time.

In addition to the Share Issuance Programme, the Company has put in place a Loan Facility of up to US$3.0 million with MACAN Pte. Ltd., the Company's largest shareholder and a related party. The Loan Facility will have a tenure of up to 3 years, may be repayable earlier at the Company's discretion and will have an interest rate of 6.0% per annum. The Company will draw down US$2.0 million immediately. 

The Loan Facility has been put in place to enable the Company to finance investment opportunities and as part of the Group's ongoing working capital requirements.

For more information please visit www.ms-holdings.com or contact:

Notes to editors

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd.

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd. is an independent developer and manager of consumer businesses located in Myanmar, one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The Company's portfolio currently focuses on Education, Services and Hospitality with the view to expand within the broader consumer sector in Myanmar.

Education sector: the Company currently has exclusive development and franchising agreements with Wall Street English for ten English language centres across Myanmar over the course of the ten-year agreement. Two centres were opened in 2017 and a third was opened in August 2018. As of March 2019, Wall Street English Myanmar served ca. 1,400 students. Through the franchise, MSH also partnered with the Directorate of Company Administration in Myanmar to provide English language courses to its civil servants.   

The Company also operates a joint venture with Auston Institute of Management to develop and operate the Auston College Myanmar. The private school opened in May 2018 offering diplomas in Engineering Technology, Construction Project Management and Networking, Information Systems, and Security. English language learning is also provided by the Company's nearby Wall Street English centre.

The Company is also set to launch its first international school, the Yangon American International School in Yangon, in August 2019. Refurbishment of the Yangon American facilities was completed in May 2019 and enrolment of students is currently underway.

Services sector: through its acquisition of EXERA, the Company now offers security, risk management and secure logistics services, including cash-in-transit. Founded in 2013, EXERA employs approximately 1,100 guards making it one of the largest security services providers in Myanmar.

Hospitality sector: through its portfolio, the Company currently manages over 470 beds across four boutique hotels in three core tourist locations across Myanmar, operating under the award winning Ostello Bello budget hospitality brand. MSH operates an asset light strategy, entering into long-term operating and management agreements with local hotel owners.

Myanmar was one of the fastest growing economies in Asia in 2017 and 2018 (Source: Asian Development Bank). In 2019, its annual GDP growth is expected to be about 7% (Source: Asian Development Bank), making it one of the fastest growing economies in the world.  

MSH is well positioned to provide investors early exposure to Myanmar's strong economic fundamentals enhanced by ASEAN's wider growth prospects.