The Yangon Stock Exchange will soon add a seventh company, Amata Holding, to its bourse, but three more are planned for this year, YSX executive senior manager U Thet Tun Oo told Bloomberg. He added that as many as 30 are in consideration as the exchange strives to regain its pre-COVID growth.

Bloomberg interviewed U Thet Tun Oo for a report on Amata Holding, which will join the YSX bourse by the end of the quarter. Which companies will follow, and when, remains unclear, but the potential additions are merely the latest in a series of important developments in the exchange. These include new rules that allow foreigners to make trades and a planned second bourse (a pre-listing board) for companies that do not yet qualify for the regular exchange.

Despite the progress, the COVID-19 pandemic has slammed the YSX, bringing what had been steady growth to a grinding halt. According to its annual report, the value of shares traded in 2020 fell nearly MMK 800 million from the previous year, for a total of MMK 12.6 billion. The pandemic has also delayed the launch of the aforementioned pre-listing board.