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trademarks in Thailand beforehand, or do so in Myanmar with occasional renewals in order to keep the registration up to date. The problem is that, similar to the situation in Thailand, the law against piracy is weakly enforced in Myanmar.The speaker panel also suggested that manufacturers keep their prices low – as most of the Myanmar population still has low purchasing power – while at the same time maintaining the highest possible quality to get repeat customers and build brand loyalty for the long term.How can a business cut costs and boost productivity to offer quality goods at low prices? Samphan Kiatsommart, CEO of Basini Enterprise Co., Ltd, which manufactures Hush Puppies footwear as well as other premium handmade European shoe brands, chose to set up two companies in both countries – one for production and one for local distribution and export.“Without a doubt, labour in Thailand is getting more expensive and with the younger generation becoming more educated, no one wants to sweat in a factory,” he observed. “That’s why our company set up a factory near the Three Pagodas Pass in Sangkhla Buri district in Kanchanaburi to take advantage of cheaper Myanmar labour. Our factory is very close to the pass and the migrant workers, comprising half of the workforce, can come to work in the morning and go home to Myanmar after work. That means less paperwork and we don’t have to provide living quarters and benefits for them in Thailand. Combine that with a 120- baht daily wage, or 200 baht inclusive of overtime, and we save a lot of money.”According to Mr Samphan, the proximity of the factory not only gives jobs to locals and migrant workersThe problem is that, similar to the situation in Thailand, the law against piracyis weakly enforced in Myanmaralike but creates more skilled workers with a lower turnover rate.“Myanmar workers at Three Pagodas Pass are happy with their living and working conditions. They don’t want to live in Thailand or move to bigger cities in Myanmar because the cost of living is much higher. Living in Myanmar is not cheap any more. So they stay, giving us time to train them for better quality products and we don’t have to recruit new workers all the time like many factories with a higher turnover rate. There are already 50 to 60 small and medium-sized factories in the area, and there’s room for more.”The firm exports to 50 countries worldwide. With Myanmar being offered export privileges for many countries such as the US and in Europe, it makes sense for Basini Enterprise to have another factory in Yangon.“The Yangon factory is mainly for export and distribution within Myanmar,” Mr Samphan said. “FromThree Pagodas Pass to Yangon is a long way and it’s expensive to transport, so it’s easier to have a factory there. Also, we sell a lot of leather shoes and sandals to Myanmar consumers through our own shops and suppliers. You can hire a good, educated sales clerk at 5,000 baht a month, while in Thailand the salary for someone equally qualified would be twice as much. Thai products are still very trusted and popular and there’s no concept of ‘sales’ yet in Myanmar, so it’s easy and straightforward to market products as you don’t have to come up with promotion deals and sales periods like you do in Thailand and most countries.“The downside of setting up a factory is Yangon is that land is very expensive, and the fundamental infrastructure is not as good as what we have in Thailand.”Elite+ 33