Hung, Kuo-chin braved Myanmar to seize the first opportunity in auto parts market A chance trip triggers GEN Y's ambition to venture into Myanmar

In 2011, when the Myanmar government opened up to the outside world, many Taiwanese and foreign investors rushed into the "last virgin land of ASEAN" in search of potential markets and business opportunities.

One of the directors of Jumbo Development Leading Co., Ltd. was originally a banker who engaged in lending in a foreign bank. It was a scenario full of business opportunities.

After returning to Taiwan, Hung conveyed his observations of the market situation to his partner, Lai Ching-yuan. After four trips from Taiwan to Myanmar in 2013, Lai decided to set up the Myanmar headquarters in Yangon in 2015, based on his more than 10 years of experience in the auto parts business in Taiwan and started a new journey to expand the domestic market for auto parts in Myanmar.

Through the unstable period in the early stage of establishment, the company gradually seized the market opportunities

After setting up the headquarters in Yangon in 2015, JDL originally expected to import drive shafts as the key to opening up the automotive market in Myanmar, but Hung and his team found that the demand for the new drive shaft was not as high as they thought it would be. The Burmese had a deep-rooted belief that Japanese cars were of better quality and also preferred second-hand parts disassembled from Japanese cars for car repairs. In addition, due to the language barrier and the low salary level of employees, Hung and his team faced the same problems as other first-time Taiwanese businessmen, namely high employee turnover and big management challenges.

However, with the lessons learned from previous drive shaft experience, Hung and his team gradually found that they could use their local advantages to understand the local market demand and adjust their marketing strategy.

By 2020, JDL have more than 200 customers in Myanmar, including garages and auto material stores, and will gradually gain a firm foothold in the market, with most of the products sold by JDL being Taiwanese products, such as Central and HKY, and a few being mainland brands.

Fulfilling corporate social responsibility makes JDL more grounded
Under the long-standing influence of Buddhist ideology, Burmese people are charitable and generous. In Myanmar, it is a daily routine to see people collecting donations and giving alms.

Myanmar is one of the top developing countries, and there are orphanages for children everywhere. Hung pointed out that JDL, in addition to making basic profits, does not forget to "give back to Myanmar what is taken from Myanmar," and regularly allocates funds and materials to help orphanages in need, including clothing and rice, so that the people of Myanmar can overcome their difficulties and JDL fulfills its corporate social responsibility.

Thankful for the support and encouragement from senior Taiwanese businessmen, we are waiting for the gloom to clear and create new heights.


JDL has been in Myanmar for 5 years and has been working hard to develop the local auto industry channel. Fortunately, the customer base accumulated over the past 5 years can still cover basic expenses.

However, for more than a year, the chaos of the epidemic and political situation have made Hung, who is alone in Yangon, think about what to do. In the face of such a special time, Hung is particularly grateful to several senior Taiwanese businessmen for their personal guidance and encouragement, as well as for their support of the company's business and sharing of their experience in Myanmar, which enabled him to quickly overcome the negative emotions and return to focus on his life and business.

Hung is now waiting for the situation in Myanmar to improve so that JDL can achieve another wave of business success in Myanmar.

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