Myanmar Securities Exchange Centre

The Myanmar Securities Exchange Centre (MSEC) is a securities market in Yangon and one of the principal exchange institutions associated with Myanmar's modern capital-market history. It was established in 1996 as a 50-50 joint venture between the state-owned Myanma Economic Bank and Japan's Daiwa Securities Group. The venture was created during a period when Myanmar's government was experimenting with limited market-oriented financial institutions after decades in which private companies had largely disappeared from the formal economy. MSEC received authorized capital of US$17 million and paid-up capital of US$3.4 million when it was formed in June 1996. Trading operations began in December of the same year. The market admitted two public-private joint-venture companies: Forest Products Joint Venture Corporation and Myanmar Citizens Bank. No broad pipeline of additional issuers developed, however, and the exchange remained a very small and lightly used market rather than becoming a full-scale national bourse. MSEC's history follows earlier, unsuccessful attempts to organize share trading in Myanmar. The Rangoon Stock Exchange operated in the 1930s as a secondary over-the-counter market in which quotations were often sourced from the Calcutta and Bombay exchanges. It was supported by several European firms but closed when the Second World War began. A later revival in the late 1950s handled shares in a small number of public-private joint ventures. That market effectively disappeared in the 1960s after the military government nationalized the relevant businesses following the 1962 coup. The 1996 MSEC project therefore represented a revival of organized securities trading after a long interruption. Its operating model was modest. Reporting in 2011 described no conventional trading floor and a small staff handling over-the-counter transactions and manually updating prices. Trading activity was sparse, and the two listed securities were rarely exchanged. Potential issuers reportedly faced concerns about taxation, loss of managerial control, and unfamiliarity with public-company obligations and capital-market practices. MSEC remained open as an over-the-counter market even after Myanmar introduced the Yangon Stock Exchange in 2015. The newer exchange was intended to provide a more formal and visible national platform, while MSEC continued to represent the country's earlier securities-market infrastructure. The available reference material does not establish a later expansion in listings or liquidity. Its significance is consequently historical and institutional as much as commercial: it was an early attempt to reconnect Myanmar businesses with equity-market finance, but it did not achieve the scale or participation required to become a liquid national stock exchange.

Myanmar's organized securities-market history predates MSEC by several decades. The Rangoon Stock Exchange operated in the 1930s as a small secondary over-the-counter market for a limited number of British and American securities. Seven European firms were involved in its operation, and many quotations were derived from the Calcutta and Bombay exchanges. The market closed at the beginning of the Second World War. The Rangoon market was revived in the late 1950s, when it handled shares in nine public-private joint-venture corporations. This second phase was short-lived. After the military takeover of 1962, the government nationalized the companies whose shares had supported the market, and the securities business faded during the following decades. The resulting absence of a functioning equity market left Myanmar without a meaningful mechanism for public share issuance or secondary trading. A new attempt began after the military government that came to power in 1988 permitted Myanma Economic Bank to cooperate with a foreign securities firm. In April 1996, Myanma Economic Bank and Daiwa Securities Group agreed to create a 50-50 joint venture. The Myanmar Securities Exchange Centre was formed in June 1996 with authorized capital of US$17 million and paid-up capital of US$3.4 million. It commenced trading in December 1996. MSEC initially listed two public-private joint-venture companies, Forest Products Joint Venture Corporation and Myanmar Citizens Bank. The small number of issuers reflected the narrow base of eligible companies and the limited development of Myanmar's corporate and regulatory infrastructure. There was no sustained wave of new listings after the initial admissions. Companies were reported to have been discouraged by possible tax exposure, concerns about losing control, and a lack of familiarity with the transparency and governance requirements associated with listed companies. By 2011, MSEC was widely characterized as a dormant or nearly dormant market. It did not operate like a large exchange with an active trading floor. Instead, a small staff handled over-the-counter transactions and maintained share-price information manually. The two listed securities were rarely traded, and public awareness of the market was low. Myanmar later pursued a separate national exchange project. Legislative and institutional preparations during the early 2010s led to the establishment of the Yangon Stock Exchange, which began operations in 2015. The new bourse was intended to provide a more modern and visible platform for listed companies. MSEC nevertheless remained open as an over-the-counter market, making it one of the continuing elements of Myanmar's older securities infrastructure. The available sources do not document a substantial post-2015 recovery, expansion in listings, or material improvement in liquidity. MSEC is therefore best understood as an early and largely illiquid capital-market institution rather than as a conventional high-volume stock exchange. Its historical importance lies in the 1996 resumption of formal share-market activity, the participation of Myanma Economic Bank and Daiwa Securities, and its role in the evolution of Myanmar's later securities-market system.

• 2015

  Yangon Stock Exchange begins operations

  [1]Myanmar Securities Exchange Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Myanmar's newer Yangon Stock Exchange opened, while MSEC continued as an older over-the-counter market.

• 2011

  Low-liquidity operating model becomes public

  [2]Myanmar's forgotten bourse eyes long-awaited expansionreuters.com

  Reporting highlighted the market's small staff, over-the-counter format, manual price updates, and sparse trading activity.

• 1996

  MSEC is established

  [1]Myanmar Securities Exchange Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Myanma Economic Bank and Daiwa Securities Group formed the 50-50 joint venture in April; MSEC was incorporated in June with authorized capital of US$17 million and paid-up capital of US$3.4 million.

• 1996

  Trading begins

  [1]Myanmar Securities Exchange Centreen.wikipedia.org

  MSEC began trading operations in December and admitted Forest Products Joint Venture Corporation and Myanmar Citizens Bank.

• 1962

  Nationalization ends the earlier market

  [1]Myanmar Securities Exchange Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Following the military takeover, the companies supporting the market were nationalized and the securities market subsequently disappeared.

• 1950

  Postwar securities-market revival

  [1]Myanmar Securities Exchange Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The Rangoon market was revived in the late 1950s to trade shares in nine public-private joint-venture corporations.

• 1930

  Rangoon Stock Exchange operates as an early securities market

  [1]Myanmar Securities Exchange Centreen.wikipedia.org

  An earlier Rangoon market traded a small number of British and American securities through a secondary over-the-counter structure before closing during the Second World War.

A pioneering, state-linked securities market serving Myanmar's limited domestic equity market and providing an early institutional foundation for organized share trading.

• Capital-market infrastructure · 1996

  Over-the-counter securities trading

  MSEC's principal activity was facilitating over-the-counter transactions in the limited number of securities admitted to its market. Unlike a large electronic exchange, the operation was described as relying on direct handling by staff and manual maintenance of quotations. Trading was infrequent and the market did not develop broad participation.

• Equity security · 1996

  Listed shares of Forest Products Joint Venture Corporation

  Forest Products Joint Venture Corporation was one of the two public-private joint-venture companies admitted when MSEC began trading. Its shares formed part of the original small securities universe supported by the exchange.

• Equity security · 1996

  Listed shares of Myanmar Citizens Bank

  Myanmar Citizens Bank was the second company listed when MSEC commenced operations. Its shares were among the small number of securities available through the market's over-the-counter trading arrangements.

• 2015

  Continue as an over-the-counter market alongside the Yangon Stock ExchangeStrategy

  Background

  Myanmar launched a newer national exchange intended to provide a more formal and modern platform for listed companies.

  Action taken

  MSEC remained open as an over-the-counter market rather than being replaced entirely by the newer exchange.

  Aftermath

  The market continued to occupy a limited and largely historical position within Myanmar's broader securities-market architecture.

  Source

• 1996

  Create a joint-venture securities marketStrategy

  Background

  Myanmar had lacked a functioning formal equity market for decades after earlier exchanges disappeared amid war, nationalization, and political change.

  Action taken

  Myanma Economic Bank partnered with Daiwa Securities Group on an equal-share basis to establish MSEC, capitalize it, and restart organized share trading.

  Aftermath

  The initiative restored formal securities-market activity, but only two companies were listed and trading remained very limited.

  Authorized capital. US$17 million (At establishment in 1996)

  Source

1. 1Myanmar Securities Exchange Centreen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Myanmar's forgotten bourse eyes long-awaited expansionreuters.com
3. 3Forgotten securities market eyeing revivalmmtimes.com
4. 4Burma's 'Vital' Stock Exchange Plans Proceeding on Scheduleirrawaddy.com
5. 5Myanmar Stock Exchange To Launch After Security Exchange Law Passedibtimes.com
6. 6Myanmar's 2015 Stock Exchange Deadline at Riskbloomberg.com