Japanese retail giant Aeon to branch out to Myanmar

Aeon, Japan's biggest supermarket chain, will branch out to Myanmar as the first major Japanese retailer in the country, sources said Monday. The project calls for setting up a representative's office in Yangon in March to lay the groundwork for launching a shopping mall in the country's former capital and largest city by 2016. The Myanmar government has revamped the nation's foreign investment law, allowing foreign retailers to invest in large- scale retailing business. Aeon already has retailing operations in China as well as in Malaysia and Thailand. Last month, it opened a shopping mall in Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam. It also plans to expand its operation in Vietnam to 20 stores by 2020.