Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) is in discussions with foreign telcos regarding the possibility of a joint venture, merger, acquisition or strategic alliance.
The state-owned mobile operator has spoken to companies from France, Singapore,…
Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) is in discussions with foreign telcos regarding the possibility of a joint venture, merger, acquisition or strategic alliance.
The state-owned mobile operator has spoken to companies from France, Singapore, Japan, and other Western countries, its managing director U Aung Maw told The Myanmar Times.
The monopoly operator has recently signed an international roaming agreement with Orange and the French telco has reportedly said it is looking to form a partnership with the incumbent.
When asked for comment an Orange spokesperson said: “We can only confirm that, regarding MPT, we are in contact with Burmese authorities on a very general level. We recently signed a wholesale agreement with MPT enabling them to connect to the Orange Roaming Hub that allows for roaming services in up to 150 countries. However, we can’t comment directly on the possible privatization process of MPT.”
MPT is part of the country’s Ministry of Communications, Information Technology, however it will be spun-off to become a separate business.
U Aung Maw was quoted as saying that it was important for MPT to be able to expand and prosper once it loses its monopoly. He felt that capital investment and industry best practices from an international partner would help this.
MPT did not reply for a request for comment before the press deadline.
MPT is the sole-owner of telecoms infrastructure in Myanmar, but the market has recently opened up following a tender and it will soon face competition from Scandinavian operator Telenor and Qatar’s Ooredoo; which won concessions in June.
International telcos see the country as virgin territory and its mobile penetration rate is very low. MPT has 6.5 million subscribers – according to GSMA Intelligence figures for Q2 – in a country of roughly 60 million people.
