Nine foreign firms submit fuel distribution bid

2 Sep 2015 Nine foreign firms have submitted tenders to form a joint venture with the Myanma Petroleum Products Enterprise (MPPE) to import, store and distribute petroleum products throughout Myanmar.
Earlier in July, MPPE invited tenders seeking foreign partners in a joint enterprise in this regard. Companies from Japan, Thailand, Singapore and South Korea have applied for tender, MPPE said.
The tenders will close on October 20.
“The political and economic reforms in the country have prompted us to make changes in our business. We would like to distribute fuel to the public with affordable prices by improving our operations and management,” U Myint Zaw, a director at MPPE, Naypyitaw office, told Myanmar Business Today.
If MPPE can cooperate with foreign companies it would be easier to control the prices and the quality of fuel, he added.
Fuel prices in Myanmar are still higher than actual global prices while there is rampant short selling of fuel.
“We will select one foreign company. When the joint venture starts distributing fuel with better operational efficiency it will put pressure on the remaining fuel stations to give people better service,” U Myint Zaw said.
“We will build our own petrol stations around the country and we will guarantee quality and exact amount.”
Right now in Myanmar mostly imports fuel, mainly diesel and petrol, from Singapore. In 2014-15, the government sector used 72 million gallons of petrol and 123 million gallons of diesel, while the private sector used 278 million gallons of petrol and 531 million gallons of diesel, according to MPPE.
Prior to 2010, the government had the sole rights to distribute and sell fuel. But after 2010 it privatised selling and distribution rights to private firms. Currently, there are 1,599 private fuel stations around the country, with 127 in Yangon and 392 in Mandalay.