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Vietnamese telco is only entrant in contest for 49% stake in new licence holder after likes of Iliad, Singtel and China Telecom fail to bid.
Myanmar has selected Viettel to partner with local entities in order to launch the country’s fourth mobile network.
Despite strong early interest, the Vietnamese operator was the only applicant in a tender process for the selection of an overseas operator to hold a 49% stake in a new mobile joint venture in Myanmar, the country’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) revealed late last week.
MCIT admitted it "was expecting a higher number of applications," given that seven companies – including five "leading foreign telecommunications operators" – submitted expressions of interest and were invited to take part in the process. The list included Iliad, Singtel, China Telecom Global, and MTN.
Nonetheless, it evaluated Viettel’s application according to pre-arranged criteria and found that the telco exceeded the minimum requirements for selection; in addition, Viettel has confirmed its commitment to paying its share of the US$300 million licence fee, the ministry said.
Hence, "the [selection] committee is pleased to announce Viettel Global Investment Joint Stock Company as the preferred successful applicant," MCIT said.
That means Viettel is now invited to take part in the third phase of the process in which it will carry out negotiations with a group of local players, including ISP Yatanarpon Teleport (YTP), and the government.
On completion of the negotiations, the parties involved will form a joint venture company that will apply for Myanmar’s fourth licence. Viettel will own 49% of the JV, with the remainder in government hands.
"Since there is no back-up applicant, the committee recommends an alternative plan to be worked out in case the negotiations are not successful," the MCIT said.
According to its provisional timetable, the ministry expects the new entity to apply for its licence in June.
