Kubota to Build Plant in Asia

Kubota will construct an agricultural machinery assembly plant near Yangon, Myanmar, the Nikkei Asian Review reported recently.

Kubota will break ground on the plant as early as autumn with spring 2016 as its targeted completion date. It likely will cost $8.2 million to build.

While Myanmar bans sales of imports by foreign companies in principle, the government decided in May to permit some wholesaling by businesses that have invested a given amount of money in special economic zones.

Kubota recently became the first foreign company to acquire a wholesale license for imported goods under that exception. The move will help the farm equipment manufacturer capitalize on surging demand as Myanmar modernizes this core industry.

About 60% of Myanmar’s population engages in agriculture, Nikkei reported, but the industry has been slow to modernize after stagnating under the former military junta, creating significant latent demand for farm equipment. S