The Spring Development Bank (SDB) set up by Myanmar’s civilian National Unity Government (NUG) has reached its target to sell US$ 10 million in shares in 10 days.
The SDB kicked off its first share offering on November 17, aiming to raise $10 million – equivalent to 10 percent of the bank’s net worth – to fund the ongoing revolution.
Launching the sale, NUG Minister for Planning, Finance and Investment U Tin Tun Naing said all proceeds would go to meet the urgent needs of the revolution as resistance forces conduct a massive and coordinated offensive to seize junta targets nationwide.
“We are proud to announce that we reached USD 10 million [in share sales] as of 6 pm Myanmar time on November 26,” the SDB stated on Sunday.
It said the historic success was proof of the determination and overwhelming support of the public who believe in the Spring Revolution.
It added that although the target had been reached, to meet continuing demand for shares, applications would continue to be accepted until 4 pm on Monday as per the original plan.
The bank has set the share price at US$ 0.001. A buyer must purchase at least $10 worth of shares, or 10,000 shares, at a time.
“Today, I bought $1,000 worth of SDB shares. I opened a bank account and bought the shares not for profit but for the future of the country,” one user wrote on Facebook.
An SDB relationship manager from Singapore told The Irrawaddy that he was serving around 40 to 45 customers per day, with share purchases ranging from $10 to $10,000.
He added that buyers came from all walks of life, ranging from domestic help and factory workers to engineers and doctors.
“I have been going to bed at around 3 or 4 am since starting to serve [SDB] customer needs. I am very happy about the tremendous participation in this event. Myanmar people from all over the world have joined this project. It is absolutely awesome,” he said after reaching the target one day early.
The NUG launched the SDB in July to fund the revolution and block financial flows to the junta. The bank currently accepts 10 currencies, including Myanmar kyats, US dollars, Thai baht, Singapore dollars, Japanese yen and Korean won.
The SDB has taken on more than 80,000 members from different countries since its launch.
