After months of hard work, speculation and almost disappointment – the winners of the 2 telco licences have been announced by Myanmar Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
What is remarkable is that both Norway’s Telenor and Qatar Telecom (now known as Ooredoo) are 100% foreign owned companies with no local Burmese partner. It is a stroke of genius by President Thein Sein to send a clear signal to the world that Myanmar is back in business, transparency is the order of the day and the buying of favour by partnering with local interest group is over in Myanmar. A new age has dawn in Myanmar.
We can assume that the motion yesterday in the Lower House of Parliament to grant licence only to consortium with local partners was the work of interest groups trying to stop the 2 telco licences from falling into the hands of outsiders like Telenor or Qatar Telecom.
The views expressed above are those of the author and not necessarily represent the views of the government agencies, companies or individuals mentioned in the article. Read our complete disclaimer policy here.
