HOUSE OF THE WEEK
Ready-for-rent villa in Mayangone township
MAKE no mistake – this is a big house. The compound is about 10,000 square feet and the two-storey house has about 5000 square feet as well. And it’s just as well that there’s so much space because it’s a long way from downtown, at Thanlawaddy Street, off Pyay Road, in Mayangone township. more
Cinema leaseholders say they will bid in state auction
(Volume 26, No. 509)
THE leaseholders of the Yangon cinemas that will be put up for auction on February 26 say they have every intention of bidding for the sites they are already managing.
The auction will see 110 state-owned buildings up for auction nationwide, and the three cinemas along Bogyoke Aung San Road, are expected to be some of the most interesting sites for potential buyers, a real estate agent said last week.
However, the cinemas have 15-year leases, and those contracts aren’t due to end until 2015.
“We signed a lease with the Ministry of Information to run those cinemas for 15 years, starting in 2000, which means there are still five years left on that contract. We intend to bid in the auction,” said U Thet Lwin, who runs the Shwe Gone and Myoma cinema in Kyauktada township.
According to the official list, five cinemas are set to auctioned in Yangon, plus one each in Bago, Taunggyi, Sittwe, Sagaing, Aung Ban and Thanlyin. The three downtown cinemas are the most profitable because they are close to the city’s main commercial zone.
“We invested more than K100 million developing the cinema over 10 years and we would like to continue that,” said the recent leaseholder of Shwe Man cinema, at the Myaynigone junction, in Sanchaung township.
U Thet Lwin said he spent K400 million developing the Shwe Gone and Myoma cinemas on Bogyoke Aung San Road over 10 years and has plans, should he place the winning bid, of upgrading at least one of the two to 3D one day.
Monthly lease fees are about K1 million. But the value of the downtown cinemas could be as much as K2 billion, said a spokesperson from Mundine real estate agency.
