$31M in Jade and Gems Sold at Naypyitaw Emporium

By Kyaw Myo 19 November 2018

NAYPYITAW — A recent jade and gems emporium held for local merchants in Myanmar’s administrative capital recorded a revenue of nearly 50 billion kyats ($31.44 million).

Ninety-six gems lots and 3,339 jade lots were on sale through competitive bidding at Mani Yadanar Jade Hall from Nov. 12-17. Fifty jade lots were sold for a total of nearly 800 million kyats and 3,185 jade lots for over 4.8 billion kyats, totaling over 49 billion kyats.

Over 50 percent of gems lots up for sale and over 90 percent of jade lots were sold during the expo.

“The sale figures both in terms of amount and value have declined compared to the previous emporium, but the amount that sold was higher than we had expected,” said U Than Zaw Oo, a member of the emporium’s organizing committee.

“Those gems and jade are inferior to those put on display at the previous emporium. But they sold because the market is short of raw materials. The market prices change every day,” said U Maung Oo of KMO Gems Trading.

Local merchants have called for the emporium to be held twice a year as it would be beneficial for less financially-strong local merchants who find it difficult to compete with foreign merchants in emporiums where jade and gems are sold in euro.

“It is good to buy jade and gems from local sellers in kyat so that smaller merchants can polish them and sell them in Mandalay and at emporiums which use euros. If possible, we want emporiums using kyat to be held twice a year so that small merchants can survive,” said U Maung Oo.

The jade and gems emporium for local merchants in March last year, where 130 of 195 jade lots displayed were sold along with 4,137 out of 4,454 jade lots, recorded a sale of around 6.2 billion kyats.

A 12.35-carat ruby set at a base price of 250 million kyats and a jade lot with a base price of over 100 million kyats were not sold at the most recent emporium.

The highest bid was for a peridot which sold for 142.7 million kyats and the winning bid for a jade lot, with a base price of 1 million kyats, was 320 million kyats.

“The base price is the seller’s price, but as buyers were bidding the price went up to 320 million kyats. I heard that a merchant from Mandalay paid that price,” said U Min Thu, a member of the central committee of the emporium’s organization team.

According to the emporium organizing committee, 1,186 jade and gem merchants registered to attend the expo.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.