Telecom Lead Asia: Telenor of Norway, the parent of the Thai mobile operator DTAC, Axiata of Malaysia, Singapore Telecommunications and ST Telemedia, a unit of Temasek Holdings, are looking for entering the mobile market in Myanmar.
Axiata says Myanmar is a logical and interesting market to consider investing in. It represents a strategic market given its high growth potential.
Myanmar is offering two licenses to expand telecom coverage to as much as 80 percent of the country by 2016, the government said on January 17 when inviting foreign companies to submit bids.
The country’s 5.44 million mobile-phone subscribers as of last month amounted to a 9 percent penetration rate. Myanmar has a fixed-line penetration rate of about 1 percent.
SingTel says it maintains an interest in investment opportunities in large, underpenetrated markets and will be financially disciplined in its evaluation of such opportunities. Singapore’s biggest phone company said it submitted its interest with Myanmar partners.
The licenses will be issued by June and may last as long as 20 years with an option for renewal, the government said on Jan 15.
Myanmar’s parliament may approve a draft telecommunications law, which will include the creation of an independent regulator by 2015, in the first half of this year.
SingTel holds stakes in mobile-phone operators in countries including Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, India and Australia. Kuala Lumpur-based Axiata already has mobile-phone interests in countries including India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
ST Telemedia owns stakes in technology and phone companies including StarHub, Singapore’s second-biggest telecommunications operator. It also holds shares of mobile-phone companies in Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as the largest cable-TV operator in the Philippines, Bloomberg reported.
Telenor has wireless assets in Asian countries including Malaysia, Thailand, India and Bangladesh.
