Nippon airways to reconnect flights to Myanmar

TOKYO, April 11 (Reuters) – All Nippon Airways (ANA) Co , Japan’s biggest airline by passenger numbers, said on Wednesday it will resume regular flights to Myanmar for the first time in 12 years, as the two countries deepen economic and political ties with Myanmar’s emergence from decades of isolation.
Historic by-elections this month brought landslide victories for Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and her opposition party, prompting moves to relax sanctions and increasing interest in the Southeast Asian country as a travel destination.
“We are making preparations to be able to start flights as soon as possible,” ANA President Shinichiro Ito told a regular news conference. He said the airline was considering direct flights between Tokyo’s Narita airport and Yangon.
Myanmar could become an important market with its population of more than 60 million and an abundance of Buddhist relics to attract Japanese tourists, Ito added.
Demand for air travel to Myanmar is increasing along with rising interest in industrial projects and market research, he said, although it has mostly been served up to now by flights via Bangkok and Singapore.
Myanmar was in the grip of military rule for decades, but in the past year the nation’s new and nominally civilian government began implementing political reforms and re-engaging internationally.
Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won 43 of 45 seats contested in by-elections on April 1, dealing a major blow to the ruling military-backed party which still dominates parliament.
Japan’s foreign minister agreed in December to begin talks with Myanmar on forming an investment pact, helping to spark moves by several Japanese firms.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange and Daiwa Securities Group announced plans on Wednesday to help Myanmar set up a securities exchange as the resource-rich nation hunts for foreign investors.
Japan’s second-biggest bank, Mizuho Corporate Bank, opened an office in Myanmar last Friday in expectation of increasing foreign investment, and Japanese convenience store chain Lawson Inc is also planning a move there.
(Writing by Chang-Ran Kim and James Topham; Editing by Chris Gallagher and Edmund Klamann)