$1.8bn, $8.5bn – the budgets for special economic zones in Myanmar as detailed in our recent blogs. The economic pace is attracting more companies to invest and open in Myanmar.

Office space has become critical. Not only because it is needed fast, but also because there is the need for flexibility, quality and the correct professional image on day 1, so meetings stay on the right track.

FocusCore Myanmar have partnered with ARCC Serviced Offices; a leading supplier of serviced offices and co working spaces to provide offices for companies wishing to operate in Myanmar. We found, for start-up companies, external funding is easier to obtain as overall costs are lower. For an established business the expansion into a new country presents lower costs and risks. Both gain a faster time to market.

Not surprising then that there is a growing global trend to outsource business operations and use serviced offices. In the words of one Finance Director: “Every company should review these options – this growing trend has not developed by accident – avoid an accident for your company”.

When FocusCore launched corporate services in Yangon we knew rapid growth would follow, but even we are surprised at the speed and rate of change, as growth has galloped ahead. Now serviced offices add to FocusCore’s suite of services to cover from company incorporation to payroll, bookkeeping and all other corporate needs required for a company to grow quickly in Myanmar.

Cost, time and effort are usually the three input measures for a business. But at the start you may not be sure what you require for offices in terms of image, size, style, location. Now you can choose options to match your changing needs. The growing global trend is to use serviced offices in the long term – flexible office space furnished at a high standard and ready for immediate occupation. And most importantly at a competitive market price.

In the past offices were usually purchased or taken on lease for varying periods; exceptionally for one month or more usually 3 to 5 years. But it is hard to predict requirements in Year 3 and beyond. Not to mention the capital equipment and IT needs now, compared to the future – are they scalable, secure, with disaster recovery? All the while with your own offices, you would have to plan ahead, choose decor and furniture, find staff and run your day to day business. It is better to reduce set-up costs and hidden costs associated with leases and equipment purchases and simpler to book extra office space when needed. We found facilities such as break-out areas, meeting rooms and video conferencing are better on a shared basis to reduce costs.

Through ARCC in Yangon, the serviced offices can be booked for one month or one year and all have renewable agreements so avoiding start-up costs while you have start-up cash flow. You can modify and adapt your office space and layout to your needs.

To compliment this flexibility, the facility provides IT infrastructure, world class telephony and office equipment that are of international standards allowing a start date without risk of delays. This again will make all the difference between success and failure.

Businesses also find significant savings from lower overheads and valuable management time savings on all these elements with also staff recruitment and staff retention benefits.

Full time support staff are on hand with local knowledge, multi-lingual support, to arrange car hire, travel advice, hotel bookings and more. You can have your own telephone numbers so incoming calls are taken using your company name.

ARCC serviced offices and FocusCore are 13kms from Yangon airport in The Hledan Centre, which is located in Yangon’s prime midtown district in Kamayut Township, opposite Yangon University and walking distance from Hledan Market. There are shopping and dining facilities, ample parking, all of which are close to Novotel, one of Yangon’s best hotels, where we have excellent corporate rates. The building is patrolled by security officers, provides key card access and CCTV surveillance with enterprise grade IT and back up.

ARCC has offices in 16 prime locations across 6 of Asia’s key cities – Beijing, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Singapore and Yangon. Boasting some of the worlds largest corporates as anchor tenants.

FocusCore has grown its family of corporate services for start-ups and established businesses. Businesses are changing. They are being forced to change on how they manage their office operations. We are here to cover these needs not only by providing corporate services but also by introducing flexible office facilities. Why wait to set up in Myanmar when you can be fully operational within weeks.