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Crawford & Company (Thailand) Limited 3 Rajanakarn Building, 10th Floor South Sathorn Road, Yannawa Sathorn, Bangkok 10120 T: +66 2 676 5353 F: +66 2 676 5454 [email protected] Patipan Soodarram Chief Executive Officer, Thailand T: +66 2 676 5353 ext 112 M: +66 81 837 0125 [email protected] Phillip Fong Chief Executive Officer, Asia T: +65 8876 1282 F: +65 6632 8600 [email protected] Ian Baxter Regional Director, GTS Asia Pacific M: +65 9834 7667 [email protected] Global Markets & London Market Benedict Burke Chief Client Officer, International T: +44 207 265 4041 M: +44 7919 552624 [email protected] Magnitude 6.8 Earthquake, Myanmar Crawford & Company Asia Pacific has readied its teams in Bangkok for mobilisation following the 6.8 earthquake which struck the Mandalay region of Myanmar on Wednesday 24 August. The U.S. Geological Survey® (USGS) said the earthquake struck near the town of Chauk, on the Ayeyarwaddy River south of Bagan and about 175 km (110 miles) south-west of the country's second city Mandalay, just after 17.00 (1030 GMT). At the time of writing, damage reports were being submitted largely in relation to the country’s tourist industry, with hundreds of ancient temples in the city of Bagan damaged. The extent of the damage has yet to be ascertained but tourism is undoubtedly one of the most important growth sectors in this country’s economy, with Myanmar’s 8.4% forecast growth making it the fastest growing destination over the next ten years according to the World Travel and Tourism Council®. Aside from tourism, the region is largely agricultural, but the neighbouring Magway Region is much more heavily industrialised, with petroleum, mining and rare earth operations widespread. Patipan Soodarram, CEO Thailand, said: “This is the second major earthquake inside six months in Myanmar. In April 2016, a 6.9 earthquake took place in Mawlaik, a town in north-west of the country and as we know this is a seismically active area. We are also aware that insurance penetration remains very low and losses are likely to be spread quite thinly across the affected areas.” “Nevertheless, we have resources on standby for clients with potential exposures and encourage carriers to contact Crawford at the earliest opportunity to begin the claims process.” www.crawfordandcompany.com Market Update 25 August 2016
