• Burmese
Thursday, July 17, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
32 °c
Ashburn
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Lifestyle Food

Restaurateurs Face Rent and Tax Woes

Kyaw Hsu Mon by Kyaw Hsu Mon
December 10, 2014
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0 0
A A
Restaurateurs Face Rent and Tax Woes

Rising rents

9.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Restaurants in Yangon are continuing to adjust as the hospitality industry expands to meet rising demand. Among several challenges facing locally-owned restaurants are sky-high rental prices, commercial tax hikes and the arrival of international chains. Despite the hurdles, Sein Lan So Pyay Garden restaurant—located near Yangon’s famous Inya Lake—continues to do a roaring trade. Nay Lin, managing director of Sein Lan Ka Bar Co. Ltd. and vice-chairman of the Myanmar Restaurants Association (MRA), spoke with The Irrawaddy’s Kyaw Hsu Mon on the outlook for the local industry.

Question: When did you open Sein Lan So Pyay Garden restaurant?

 

RelatedPosts

Ma Win Maw Oo, soaked in blood, is carried by two medics on Sept. 19, 1988 in downtown Yangon after troops gunned down peaceful demonstrators. / S. Lehman / Visions

Why the Past Can’t Be Put to Rest

September 19, 2020
8.2k
Renowned Myanmar language teacher John Okell is still inspiring students, five decades on.

Love of the Lingo

August 5, 2020
10.2k
Maung Thaw Ka (standing, left) accompanies Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (with microphone) during her first-ever speech to the Myanmar public, delivered outside Yangon General Hospital on Aug. 24, 1988, two days before her historic address to a huge crowd outside the city’s Shwedagon Pagoda.

A Tribute to Maung Thaw Ka

June 11, 2020
7.6k

Answer: I opened this restaurant in 2004. At that time, we had only decided to create the garden and we leased the land from the Yangon City Development Committee on a short-term contract. Then, we began selling my sister’s homemade tea leaf salads and fresh fruit juice and coffee. After customers asked us for more variety, we began selling many different kinds of food. In the past, this area [where the restaurant is located] was untouched, but there were some drug users and crime. That’s why former government officials wanted to develop the area and assigned us to design a better garden. Since then we have managed to create a beautiful 3.6 acre garden.

Q: What are the major challenges in managing an outdoor garden restaurant in Myanmar?

A: Most of our clients want to sit by Inya Lake, so we need more waiters to serve them. We are always caring for our clients across a wide area. We have 110 staff. To be successful, we have to carefully manage our work. In peak season, about 3,000 people come here per day. We’re always careful to manage security, food quality and service. We have a big lawn which has overhead cover for 250 people and a small lawn which has cover for 100 people, so clients can hold events here. The rainy season in Myanmar lasts about six months, so we have to rely on the other six months for the bulk of customers.

Q: Why are there relatively few outdoor restaurants?

A: The main challenge is that the government has not allowed many outdoor restaurants to set up in public areas like this. We need more public spaces for people, but if the government only allows these areas for building condos, or housing projects, it will be hard. As you know, land prices in Yangon are rising. Developers will only focus on building infrastructure, not public spaces. There are only a few public spaces for residents in Yangon to relax—Kandawgyi Park, People’s Park and my garden. There are public parks in every single ward in other countries. Here, the number of garden restaurants is very small—I can count them—only two or three in Yangon.

Q: What is the situation for indoor restaurants in Myanmar? Is business declining?

A: The business model remains strong. But revenue is declining because employees’ wages are getting higher, the price of raw materials is increasing and—the biggest challenge that we’re facing now—rental costs have skyrocketed. Businesses normally rent land on a three-year contract, and we have to construct buildings and create designs during those three years. But it’s hard to get returns on the investment, that’s why earnings are declining. In terms of business development, now we can use new technologies and create new designs, as we are learning from other countries. We can update our businesses and the market is improving. Now, restaurant owners know how to manage their businesses.

Q: What is the impact of international investment in the industry? KFC will enter the market soon and other international food franchises have already opened shops here. Can all of them compete in the future?

A: It will have little impact on the market because, although when the international chains first step in, consumers will go and try them, in the long-term, people can’t regularly eat fast food. It will impact the local market [but] we have our own customers. We have to maintain [high standards of] food hygiene to compete with them. The MRA has about 400 members, from Yangon, Mandalay and Bagan, although this is not the total number of restaurants in Myanmar.

Q: Do you have any plans to advocate for food hygiene in Myanmar, since many foreign visitors complain about standards in the country?

A: We’re considering this issue. Many foreign visitors will continue to visit. MRA is recognized by the government but we’re not an official authority, just volunteers. So we need to work with the government. What we can do is create awareness [of the issue]. We can’t take action and push them.

Q: Do you agree that the government’s support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has been weak? What does the government need to do to support SMEs?

A: We face many challenges just to survive in this industry, for example, high rental costs. In Yangon, the better locations go to car showrooms now. They pay more money, which we can’t afford. Actually, these showrooms should be on the outskirts of the city. We can’t compete with them to pay higher costs.

And the government should create food stalls for clients in every single township. So customers can have whatever they want in one place. The MRA members could run these food stalls.

Another challenge we’re faced with is high commercial tax rates [30 percent of revenue]. We pay 25 percent and 5 percent is effectively paid by consumers. This percentage is a lot for us, and consumers don’t want to pay it either. When we import raw foods for the restaurant, we are charged again, so it is almost a case of double taxation. Ultimately, the consumers will carry this burden, that’s why we’re speaking with the government about the issue. Food prices in Myanmar are among the most expensive in Southeast Asia and prices are always increasing.

Q: Can local entrepreneurs compete with foreign traders after implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area in Myanmar next year?

A: I am worried about that. We local businessmen manage our own budgets, but foreign investors are backed by food chains that have a strong budget. We will definitely lose out, for example, over high rental costs—we can’t pay, but they can. So we will eventually disappear if this occurs [unchecked].

 

This interview was first published in the December issue of The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Magazine
Kyaw Hsu Mon

Kyaw Hsu Mon

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Aung San: A Legacy Unfulfilled
Stories That Shaped Us

Aung San: A Legacy Unfulfilled

by Kyaw Zwa Moe
February 11, 2015
14.7k

Born in 1915, Aung San’s aspirations for a unified and democratic Myanmar went unfulfilled in his lifetime and have yet...

Read moreDetails
Kokang: The Backstory
Burma

Kokang: The Backstory

by Bertil Lintner
March 9, 2015
18k

The site of fierce recent fighting, Shan State’s Kokang region has a complex history of feuding warlords and thriving drug...

Read moreDetails
Trickle Town
Stories That Shaped Us

Trickle Town

by Aung Zaw
August 13, 2014
7.7k

As Yangon’s Golden Valley enjoys an unexpected cash bonanza, questions around some surprise beneficiaries of the current reform period are...

Read moreDetails
The Kola of Cambodia
Features

The Kola of Cambodia

by The Irrawaddy
January 9, 2015
8.2k

A Buddhist pagoda and an elderly woman are among the last traces of a group of mysterious Myanmar migrants.

Read moreDetails
Neruda’s Burmese Days
Culture

Neruda’s Burmese Days

by Seamus Martov
June 15, 2015
12.5k

The late Chilean poet Pablo Neruda found love and lasting inspiration in the colonial capital.

Read moreDetails
Quality Talk?
Burma

Quality Talk?

by Tamas Wells
February 27, 2015
3.6k

Developers and donors are big on “community consultation” ahead of large projects, but are the touted listening exercises really sincere?

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Disgraced Former Religion Minister’s Appeal Rejected

Disgraced Former Religion Minister’s Appeal Rejected

Kachin Rebels Suspend Monthly Meetings With Burma Army

Kachin Rebels Suspend Monthly Meetings With Burma Army

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

6 days ago
718
‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

1 week ago
1.4k

Most Read

  • Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Rakhine Fighters Close In on Myanmar Junta’s Naval Base

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar and Russian Regimes Push Indian Trade Corridor to Bypass Western Sanctions

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Launches Space Agency With Russian Help

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.