Myanmar awards fourth telecoms license as mobile market heats up
Myanmar on January 12 awarded its fourth – and final – telecoms license to a joint venture between Vietnam’s telecom company Viettel and two local firms, heating up competition in a rapidly growing market by adding a second majority-Myanmar operator. Military-run Viettel will have a 49 percent stake in the new venture called Myanmar National Tele & Communications Co. Ltd, while its local partners, Myanmar National Telecom Holding Public and Star High Public Company will hold 23 and 28 percent respectively. The venture is an unusual case of cooperation between businesses controlled by Myanmar and Vietnam militaries, as Star High Public Company’s mother company, the reclusive Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd., belongs to the Myanmar army. The drawn-out selection process had started before the government of Aung San Suu Kyi came to power in April and while Viettel’s involvement has been known for a while, the highly-anticipated official ceremony only took place on Thursday.
