Local companies in Myanmar now have the option of bidding for the country’s fourth mobile licence, adding another level of competition to the market.
Public firms with at least $2.3 billion registered capital have been asked to declare their interest in bidding by August 24th, with the winner required to partner with a foreign company.
There are already 3 operators offering services in Myanmar: MPT-KDDI, Ooredoo and Telenor, with the latter already boasting 9.5 million subscribers. Growth in Myanmar has been quick, with the penetration rate already at 27.5% at the end of Q2 2015.
Once the fourth licence has been awarded, the second stage of the process will commence and the winner will find a foreign partner. This stage is unlikely to be completed before the end of the year.
The most likely candidate to win the fourth licence is state-owned ISP Yatanarpon Teleport (YTP), which has expressed its goal of creating a consortium of local firms to bid. It may face competition from Vietnamese operator Viettel, which has also expressed interest in the market.
