Establishment of a Nay Pyi Taw Office in Myanmar

On August 1, 2012, Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kuniharu Nakamura) will establish an office in Nay Pyi Taw, the capital of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar through Sumitomo Corporation Asia Pte. Ltd. (hereinafter, "Sumitomo Corporation Asia").

With a population of 62 million, Myanmar has been drawing global attention as a frontier market with the potential for rapid economic development due to its rich natural resources, including fertile land 1.8 times the size of Japan, agricultural products, fishery products, minerals, oil and natural gas. The country also enjoys the geopolitical advantage of being an ASEAN nation situated at the crossroads between China/South East Asia and India/South West Asia.

Sumitomo Corporation first established a presence in the country in 1954, when it opened an office in Yangon, the then capital, and operated businesses involving railway cars, construction machinery, automobiles, basic chemicals, and others. The office is currently run as the Yangon Office of Sumitomo Corporation Asia.

As democratization and economic deregulation proceed in Myanmar, Sumitomo Corporation Asia intends to make further efforts to uncover business opportunities for the Sumitomo Corporation Group by establishing a two-office system consisting of the both the new Nay Pyi Taw Office and the existing Yangon Office, thus improving its information gathering abilities.

In doing so, we intend to explore new markets as well as individual projects within each product domain, with the overall aim of contributing to the country's development.

<Outline of the local office>