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Successful bidder will have to join 11-strong consortium of local companies.
Seven foreign companies have expressed interest in Myanmar’s fourth mobile licence, it emerged on Monday.
This is according to a report by Reuters, which cited Chit Wai, deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT). The identity of the firms has not been disclosed, but they have all submitted expressions of interest (EOIs).
Now it is up to the MCIT to select a preferred bidder and apply to the Posts and Telecommunications Department (PTD) for a licence, which will be valid for 15 years.
The successful applicant will be asked to form a joint venture with a consortium of 11 local investors and companies – including ISP Yatanarpon Teleport (YTP) – known as the Domestic SPV (special purpose vehicle). The consortium members were whittled down from a list of 17 applicants.
Myanmar opened up its telecom sector in 2014 and is currently home to three mobile operators: Telenor, Ooredeoo, and Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), which includes Japan’s KDDI among its partners.
According to the MCIT, telecom penetration had grown to 60% by the end of September 2015 from just 10% in 2013.
