By Aye Yamone
INVESTMENT from small and medium enterprises will be given priority in a striped catfish farming project, which is being implemented on over 900 acres of land in Pantanaw Township, Ayeyawady Region, said Dr. Toe Nanda Tin, the Director of Global Earth Public Co. Ltd.
More than 100 shares will be issued in June for the project, and each share will be worth K100 million, said Dr. Toe Nanda Tin at the 9/2019 Aquatic Sector Entrepreneurs’ Regular Meeting, held at the Myanmar Fisheries Federation on 28 May.
“We are calculating how much dividend we can give to SME investors annually because they will buy the shares to earn a profit. Therefore, we wish to give an optimal dividend of between 15 and 20 per cent. Then only will people be interested in purchasing the shares. We will start the project with 100 farming ponds. We will form 100 SME groups, and then, we will invite them to buy shares,” said the Director of Global Earth Public Co. Ltd.
“Although Global Earth Public Co. has been planning to invite share members for implementing the farming project since 2018, there were challenges concerning distributing dividends to share members within a one-year period. Therefore, the company decided to invite share members only once the project is operational,” she said.
“We have already discussed inviting stakeholders for the project with lawyers,” she added.
The Permanent Secretary and officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation inspected the land for the project, on behalf of the Myanmar Investment Commission, to check whether it would have a negative impact on the environment. The MIC granted permission for the project in January after it got a clean chit from the Ministry.
“We will give priority to SMEs. If we don’t have enough share members from SME groups, we will invite individual share members. Now, the factories are under construction. SMEs will earn only 10 per cent interest if they put their money in the bank. We want to start farming with the participation of SMEs. We will launch the project in June,” she added.
Fish farming will be conducted in accordance with the rules and regulations, said the Global Earth Company. The company will also provide technical assistance for farming and feeding systems, in addition to ensuring water quality. The company will apply for a bank loan if it fails to attract enough investors for the project, said Dr. Toe Nanda Tin.
A total of 120,000 striped cat fingerlings are being kept in 80 hatcheries for the striped catfish farming project.
“The shareholders don’t need to worry about the market. We plan to penetrate the China and US markets,” said Dr. Toe Nanda Tin, adding: “And, we will purchase fish from this project for a minimum price of K2,200 per viss. Through this farming project, we will build feed factories and cold storage factories. A total of US$200 million will be invested initially in the project.” (Translated by Hay Mar)
