business | investment
Chinese State, US Billionaire, Irish Tycoon in Telecoms Bid A diverse selection of global corporations is vying with each other to bring mobile phones to Myanmar’s masses By WILIAM BOOT
T
he biggest and most colorful collection of telecommunications companies assembled in years is waiting for the decision bell to ring in Naypyitaw in late june on one of the world’s last untapped mobile phone markets. Twelve international telecom businesses and consortia are on a government shortlist, out of which only two will be awarded contracts to build networks for potentially more than 50 million new telephone customers. The decision on june 27 will pave the way to propelling Myanmar into the 21st century, at least in telecommunications terms. just a few million out of Myanmar’s 50-plus million population have mobile phones and access to an as-yet extremely limited system. After years of tightly restricted mobile phone ownership through extortionate prices, the government of President U Thein Sein wants wireless telecommunications to be available to up to 80 percent of the population by 2016. Some of the world’s biggest telephone network companies and some of the most obscure are on the
short list, whittled down from about 90 firms. They are: China Mobile Limited and Vodafone Group in a partnership; Singapore Telecommunications; Bharti Airtel of India; MTN from Dubai; the Irish-owned Digicel Group; KDDI Corporation of japan; Sumitomo Corporation, also from japan; Malaysia’s Axiata Group; Telenor of Norway; Millicom International Cellular of Luxembourg; Qatar Telecom; and Vietnam’s Viettel Group. The world’s two biggest mobile phone service operators, China Mobile and Vodafone, have 1.14 billion subscribers globally between them. They have teamed up to make the most powerful bid. But probably the most colorful is the joint venture put together by the small Digicel, which operates mostly among the small Caribbean islands, although it is owned by an entrepreneur from Ireland. Digicel’s joint venture partners in the license bid are Quantum Strategic Partners, owned by American billionaire speculator George Soros, and Myanmar’s Yoma Strategic holdings, owned by noted rangoon businessman U Serge Pun.
A man uses a mobile phone on the side of a street in Yangon. On June 27, Myanmar’s government is expected to award two contracts to international bidders to build telecoms networks for the country’s more than 50 million people.
June 2013