TWO executives from German industrial giant Robert Bosch GmbH visited Myanmar last month to discuss ways to expand the market for their products here, a senior official with the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) said last week.

A five-member delegation met with high-ranking UMFCCI members in Yangon on September 17 as part of a research effort to better understand Myanmar’s trade and business conditions ahead of a potential push by Bosch into the market here, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Included in the Bosch group were two executives from the global giant’s German headquarters – Rubert Bosch and Dr Rudolf Colm – as well the president of Bosch’s Singapore-based regional partner South East Asia Pte., Ltd, Cem Peksaglam, and two representatives of local trading company Wonder World Co., Ltd.

“They want to expand their market in Myanmar. But the availability of market information here is hard to come by and, in my opinion, the outcome will not be as strong as what they are hoping for,” the UMFCCI official said.

“We discussed pricing with them and they talked about their products’ quality and durability. We accept that Bosch products are of high quality but the prices are generally out of reach of consumers here. They need to compete with China in pricing if they want to penetrate the market here,” he said.

Before leaving Myanmar, the Bosch executives asked the UMFCCI to conduct a market survey to gauge the potential for a wide range of their products here, from heavy machinery to sparkplugs.

The UMFCCI would do the survey if an agreement on payment was reached, the official said.

Headquartered near Stuttgart, Bosch is an international manufacturer of industrial parts and machinery, including sparkplugs, batteries, excavators, backhoes and pile-boring machines. It is also one of the world’s largest suppliers of automotive technology.

“Although they want to find ways to invest here they haven’t yet got any plan to build a factory in Myanmar,” the official said, noting that the Bosch representatives had been seeking information on foreign investment rules.

“Three German business organisations have came to Myanmar and discussed investment opportunities here within last two or three years but nothing has materialised yet,” he added.