SHWE.L Regulatory News (SHWE)

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.

17 August 2020

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd.

("MSH" or the "Company")

Further re subscription to Share Issuance Programme 

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd. (LSE: SHWE), the independent developer and operator of consumer businesses in Myanmar and Vietnam, is pleased to announce that, further to the announcement of 26 May 2020 in respect of the launch of a share issuance programme, it has raised an additional US$385,000 (before expenses) through the issue of 19,250 new ordinary shares in the capital of the Company (the "Subscription Shares") at a price of US$20 per share (the "Subscription"). The Subscription has been completed today.

The Subscription funds, which have been received in full by the Company, have been raised from existing shareholders pursuant to the terms of the previously announced Share Issuance Programme. Details of the Share Issuance Programme, which provides the Company with continued flexibility to raise further capital and has now raised a total of US$6.4million to date, were announced by the Company on 26 May 2020.

In line with the objectives of the Share Issuance Programme, the Directors believe this Subscription will:

· allow the Company to increase the speed at which it can scale and expand the Group's existing operations;

· support the acquisition of a minority stake in Myanmar Investments International Limited as announced on 13 August 2020; and

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

An application will be made shortly for the Subscription Shares to be listed on the standard segment of the Official List and to be admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities. It is expected that such admission will become effective and that dealings in the Subscription Shares will commence at 8.00 a.m. on 21 August 2020.

The Subscription Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing ordinary shares of the Company, including the right to receive dividends and other distributions declared following their issue. The Subscription Shares will represent 0.7% of the enlarged issued share capital of the Company.

Update on admission of shares in connection with S$6.0 million subscription

In addition, the Company can confirm that an application will be made shortly for the 187,500 new ordinary shares in the Company to be issued to MACAN Pte. Ltd. and A-Star-Education Holdings Pte. Ltd. pursuant to the announcement of 20 July 2020 in connection with the completion of the second tranche of the previously announced subscription to raise US$6.0 million. It is expected that such admission will become effective and that dealings in the 187,500 new ordinary shares in the Company will commence at 8.00 a.m. on 21 August 2020.

Total voting rights

Following admission of the 206,750 new ordinary shares in the Company detailed above, the Company will have a total of 2,797,291 Ordinary Shares in issue. The above figure may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

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

Notes to editors

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd.

Myanmar Strategic Holdings Ltd. (LSE: SHWE) is an independent developer and manager of consumer businesses in Myanmar and Vietnam, two 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.

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, a third in August 2018, and a fourth in February 2020. As of April 2020, Wall Street English Myanmar served over 4,000 students since its inception.

In July 2020, the Company completed the acquisition of the Wall Street English business in Vietnam. Founded in 2013, the WSE Vietnam business operates through seven centres in Ho Chi Minh and Binh Dhuong serving over 6,000 students. 

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, Mechanical Engineering and Networking, Information Systems, and Security. English language learning is also provided by the Company's nearby Wall Street English centre. In February 2020, the Company announced a partnership with Liverpool John Moores University to provide high quality engineering training programmes for young, working professionals in Myanmar, to be taught by Auston College Myanmar's teaching staff at its Junction Square complex in Yangon.

The Company launched its first private K-12 international school, the Yangon American International School in Yangon, in August 2019.

Services sector: through its acquisition of EXERA, the Company offers security, risk management and secure logistics services, including cash-in-transit. Founded in 2013, EXERA employs approximately 1,300 well-trained and high-quality security officers 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 and Vietnam were among the fastest growing economies in Asia in 2017-2019 (Source: Asian Development Bank). In 2020, their annual GDP growth is expected to be respectively 2% and 4% (Source: Asian Development Bank). 

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

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