Yoma Strategic Holdings Shares Plummet Amid Executive Chairman's Investigation

Shares in Yoma Strategic Holdings fell 17% in Singapore after Executive Chairman Serge Pun started cooperating with authorities in Naypyitaw on banking matters. Despite no charges filed, reports say Pun has been detained for alleged banking violations. Myanmar's economic instability continues post-2021 coup, impacting businesses significantly.

Shares in Myanmar-focused conglomerate Yoma Strategic Holdings plummeted nearly 17% in Singapore on Wednesday, following the company's statement that Executive Chairman Serge Pun is cooperating with authorities in Naypyitaw regarding bank business matters.

'There are no charges filed against him,' the company asserted, noting Pun's engagements with the central bank and other authorities. 'As a responsible business organisation in Myanmar, the group engages with the relevant government ministries and regulators from time to time.'

The news outlet Myanmar Now reported on Tuesday that Pun had been detained for over a month due to alleged violations of banking regulations, citing anonymous sources. A spokesperson from Myanmar's junta did not respond to calls from Reuters for comment.

Last week, a state-run newspaper reported that Yoma Bank, founded by Pun and one of Myanmar's largest commercial banks, is under scrutiny—alongside six other private lenders—for breaching housing loan norms set by the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM). 'Some private banks grant large sums of housing loans, breaking the directives of the CBM for their own sake,' reported the Global New Light of Myanmar, adding that the lenders and central bank officials would face action.

Pun, listed as the Executive Chairman of Yoma Bank on the lender's website, has expanded his business empire to include financial services, food, and auto sales, achieving a listing for Yoma Strategic on the Singapore Stock Exchange in 2006.

Yoma stock plunged as much as 21.5% in early trade and was last down 16.7% at S$0.1319 (9.8 U.S. cents), its lowest in two weeks. Myanmar's economic turmoil following a 2021 military coup, which ousted the civilian government, has led to widespread protests and a nationwide armed rebellion against the junta.

According to the World Bank, escalating violence, labour shortages, and a depreciating currency have made business operations increasingly difficult. The World Bank also forecast economic growth to remain at a mere 1% in the current fiscal year. In an effort to stabilize the depreciating currency and rampant inflation, junta authorities have made dozens of recent arrests, including a Japanese national working for a supermarket chain in Myanmar.

($1 = 1.3496 Singapore dollars)

(With inputs from agencies.)