Once described as a “Forgotten Land”, Myanmar has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. A country with more than 55 million inhabitants, low per capita coating consumption, and undeveloped housing stock should have been a Jackpot for domestic and global paint companies. Coatings World presents an overview of Myanmar’s coatings industry in this feature.

Overview of Myanmar’s Coatings Industry

Referred to as the last frontier in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Myanmar coating industry has been through cyclical ups and downs during the past 15 years. At the end of 2023, the country’s overall coating industry was estimated at $146 million.

Small as compared to most of its peers in the region, coating consumption in the country is dominated by the architectural segment, which accounts for nearly 82% of the total consumption in the country. The industrial segment, accounting for 18% of the total industry, has registered disappointing numbers during the last few years.

Between 2012 and 2018, Myanmar’s coating industry experienced steady growth rate, averaging more than 8% per year. This growth was triggered by economic reforms, lifting of sanctions, and optimism for greater stability. These factors acted as key catalysts for robust growth in construction and industrial segments.

Dominated by domestic company UPG Paint & Coating Industry, Thailand’s Toa Paints, Japanese Kansai, and Nippon Paints, and Dutch company AkzoNobel, Myanmar’s coating industry is dominated by foreign coating producers, which account for more than 70% of total domestic output/supply.

Myanmar’s Architectural Segment

The architectural segment accounts for about 82% of the Myanmar’s coating industry on a volume basis.  The country’s construction industry has experienced steady numbers even after 2021 political change. Driven by urbanization, infrastructure development, and reconstruction efforts following the 7.7 scale, May 2025 earthquake, Myanmar’s construction sector is expected to continue its upward trend, supported by major projects and government plans.

However, there are multiple headwinds like rising costs, Kyat depreciation, and supply chain disruptions, which could have a negative impact on architectural segment demand. Segment growth is expected to register higher numbers in the current year.

A key impact of the earthquake has been consumers’ loss of interest in multi-story projects in the urban areas. In the long run, low rise construction is beneficial for the architectural paint producers as paint demand (volume) is more in case of a number of low-rise constructions as opposed to a single high-rise structure.

Myanmar’s Industrial Segment

Compared to almost all of the countries in the region, the share of the industrial segment in the overall coating industry is smallest in Myanmar. The near absence of domestic automotive production, lack of physical infrastructure, and undeveloped industrial sector has dampened the growth of the industrial coating segment.

The automotive sub-segment, the largest demand driver of industrial coating, has not met the expectations as a high proportion of automobiles are imported in the country as completely built or knocked down units, which are later assembled in the country. Earlier, Japanese automakers were the main importers in the country. During the last one and a half decades, Chinese automakers (particularly EV makers) have made inroads in the country’s automotive market.

Imports

Imports form a significant proportion of Myanmar’s coating demand. Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and China (in that order) are major importing countries of coating products in the country.

An executive from International Trade department of domestic company UPG Paint & Coating Company told CW on the condition of anonymity, “Import of coating products has increased substantially after 2021. According to our internal data, imports accounted for about 23% of the total domestic coating demand in 2024. A substantial proportion of total imports are unaccounted for, which causes hardship for domestic producers.”

Fraught with Challenges

The coating industry in Myanmar has faced multiple headwinds during past three years. The political situation, low economic growth, low disposable income, and lower degree of urbanization have played their role in the tepid growth of the industry. 

Among these factors, the political situation has played the most important factor in the coating demand in the country. Coating demand was lackluster during the Junta’s rule before 2011.

After the return of civilian rule in 2011, a number of global coating companies started to make arrangements to set their footprints in the vastly untapped market. The country’s political and economic reforms that liberalized its financial sector replaced its multiple exchange rate system with a single one, and revised its foreign investment laws that acted as major incentives for foreign (particularly Japanese) companies to invest in the country’s paint sector.

There was a burst of initial exuberance about the country’s coating industry potential given its large population, growing urbanization, and low per capita paint usage. These global coating majors were eager to capitalize on what many saw as the last frontier market in South East Asia.

However, after ten eventful years, the military takeover in February 2021 marked a turning point for almost all the industries, including coatings. The ensuing political and economic crisis disrupted trade flows, led to sanctions, factory closures, triggered inflation, and saw a large part of the young  generation force migrate abroad, seeking opportunities elsewhere. Almost all the coating producers are struggling to maintain modest growth numbers. Mass and the lower economy sub-segment are the only market components which have posted steady numbers during the past three years.

Lower economic growth post-2021 coup has also dented the coating industry’s prospects in the country. Lower growth has had an impact on the construction sector, which is the main driver of architectural coating. The repainting sub-segment has also witnessed some changes in its fortunes as lower economic growth has propelled some consumers to defer repainting. Disappointing economic growth numbers in the 2024-25 financial year are indicating tougher days in the immediate short-term.