Jotun opening their first shop in Myanmar

Jotun has entered Myanmar, and together with their partner, Unique Innovative Trading, they opened the first Multi-Colour Centre in Yangon on the 5th of November. Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Espen Barth Eide, presided over the opening of the centre. Jotun is the first Norwegian company starting up a business in Myanmar.

Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, Norwegian Ambassador to Myanmar, Katja Nordgaard, CEO of Jotun, Morten Fon and Jotun’s Regional Director for South East Asia, Peder Bohlin together with local politicians marked the opening with a number of activities from ribbon cutting, hand printing using Jotun paints and finally a ceremony to reveal the signage of the centre. It was a truly colourful opening with traditional Myanmar dancers, puppet show and colourful balloons.

The Foreign Minister congratulated Jotun with the very first Multi-Colour Centre in Myanmar. He mentioned the remarkable development which the country has undergone during the last 18 months, when he first visited Myanmar. He emphasized President Sein Thein’s important role together with the opposition leader Daw Aung San Su Kyi, and how the country has been opening up to the rest of the world. Norway has been assisting Myanmar in the peace and democratisation process, and was the first county to lift the economic sanctions related to trading with the country.

Mr Barth Eide stressed the importance of corporate social responsibility when doing business in a country like Myanmar. –It is important to earn money in a responsible manner. When Jotun is opening up a shop in Yangon, it will benefit all parts of the society. It will create jobs to the people and give the society skilled workers and money to spend. In addition, paint is needed to give the Yangon a colourful facade. He said that foreign investments are important components for democratic reforms. This can result in better economic times for a sorely tried people.

CEO of Jotun, Morten Fon, explained that Jotun’s Multi Colour Centre is the first stepon the road to open up a new factory in Myanmar. Jotun’s general strategy is to open shops in new markets and from there they build an organisation. When time is ready, they start producing paint. Jotun has already found a suitable location for building a factory north of Yangon. The goal is also of course to make Jotun a well-known brand in Myanmar, said Mr Fon.

Jotun A/S is Norway's leading producer of paints, coatings and powder coatings. It owns 74 companies in 43 different countries and has 38 production facilities in 22 countries. In addition, Jotun has agents, branch offices and distributors in more than 80 countries.