Swedish-based mobile operator Millicom said on Friday it had joined bigger rivals including China Mobile in applying for a licence in Myanmar, hoping to get a share of a largely untapped market.
Millicom has operations in Latin America and Africa, having pulled out of Asia in 2009.
Two 15-year licences being tendered by Myanmar’s authorities have attracted wide interest from telecoms firms, which see huge growth opportunities in a country of 60 million where the mobile penetration rate is around 5-10 percent, compared to rates of over 100 percent in many developed markets.
“We are an applicant,” a spokesman for Millicom said.
China Mobile has teamed up with Vodafone and a group backed by George Soros has also entered the race to secure a licence.
Africa’s largest mobile phone company, MTN, India’s top mobile operator Bharti Airtel and Singapore’s SingTel have also expressed an interest.
Source
