Qatar-based telecommunications firm Ooredoo is in talks to sell its Myanmar unit in order to the exit from the country, Reuters news report said.
Doha-based Ooredoo has informed Myanmar’s Posts and Telecommunications Department (PTD), the country’s regulator, of its intention to sell a unit that was Myanmar’s third-biggest operator with nearly 15 million users in 2020, before the industry was disrupted by February 2021’s military coup.
The main potential buyers for the company include Myanmar conglomerate Young Investment Group, Singapore-headquartered network infrastructure operator Campana Group, and telecoms company SkyNet, owned by Myanmar group Shwe Than Lwin.
Ooredoo had 9 million customers in 2022, according to its earnings, down from 15 million in 2020, for which it reported revenue of about $330 million.
Norway’s Telenor withdrew from the country in March this year. Telenor’s former unit in the country is now majority-owned by Myanmar firm Shwe Byain Phyu, with a minority stake purchased by Lebanese investment firm M1.
Other telecoms service providers in the country are MPT, a large state-backed operator, and Mytel, a venture between Myanmar’s army and Viettel, owned by Vietnam’s defence ministry.
