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Nielsen and MMRD announce Myanmar joint venture

5 minute read | March 2014

Nielsen/MMRD collaboration to provide in-depth understanding of the Myanmar marketplace and consumer behaviour

YANGON, MYANMAR, 3 MARCH 2014 – Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE:NLSN), a leading global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy, and Myanmar Marketing Research & Development Co., Ltd (MMRD), the pioneer of research services in Myanmar with over 20 years of experience in the market, today announced a joint venture collaboration, effective 1 March 2014.

The joint venture entity, Nielsen MMRD, will see the two organizations combine their collective solutions to help companies which are established in Myanmar or have plans to enter the market to understand the unique market and consumer dynamics.

“With a population of over 56 million and the second largest land mass in ASEAN, Myanmar represents one of the last remaining untapped frontiers for our clients,” said Suresh Ramalingam, Nielsen’s Managing Director of Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar Cluster. “We are excited to begin this collaboration with MMRD, a highly-respected and well-established market research firm in Myanmar, and we look forward to working closely with the MMRD team to help our combined client base gain the deepest insight into Myanmar’s marketplace and consumers.”

“We are honoured to partner with Nielsen and view the joint venture arrangement as a pivotal opportunity to realise our vision to deliver wider international exposure to our clients while broadening the depth of our services,” said U Moe Kyaw, Senior Advisor, Nielsen MMRD. “We’ve seen a substantial increase in demand for insights on Myanmar, evidenced by the 88.5 percent net growth in market research reported by ESOMAR, and we are now much better-positioned to help our clients here and abroad to understand our unique marketplace.”

A LOOK AT CONSUMER AND MEDIA TRENDS IN MYANMAR

Population:

Media usage:

Advertising trends:

Key category trends:

“Recent political reforms coupled with a large, young population and healthy economic outlook make Myanmar a highly attractive market,” observes U Moe Kyaw. “The market is shifting rapidly, however, with burgeoning media usage and evolving purchasing behaviour. Staying abreast of changing consumer habits will be a critical success factor for local and multinational companies alike in the years ahead.”

About Nielsen

Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence and mobile measurement. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

About MMRD

MMRD was established in 1992 and was Myanmar’s first market research agency. It has 250 research professionals in 13 regional offices throughout the country, and has conducted over 400,000 door to door interviews and 3,000 qualitative research studies.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer

This news release includes information that could constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by words such as ‘will’, ‘expect’, ‘should’, ‘could’, ‘shall’ and similar expressions. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results and events could differ materially from what presently is expected. Factors leading thereto may include without limitations general economic conditions, conditions in the markets Nielsen is engaged in, behavior of customers, suppliers and competitors, technological developments, as well as legal and regulatory rules affecting Nielsen’s business and specific risk factors discussed in other releases and public filings made by the Company (including the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission). This list of factors is not intended to be exhaustive. Such forward-looking statements only speak as of the date of this press release, and we assume no obligation to update any written or oral forward-looking statement made by us or on our behalf as a result of new information, future events, or other factors.

CONTACTS:

International Media Relations: Deanie Sultana, deanie.sultana@nielsen.com, +61 431 483 176Myanmar Media Relations: Jessica Myint Thinn, jessica@mmrdrs.com, +95 9420 289 138