UK-listed Vodafone and China Mobile have decided to leave Myanmar’s auction of two telecoms licences next month, saying the conditions set by the government did not meet their criteria for investment.
The British and Chinese operators formed a…
UK-listed Vodafone and China Mobile have decided to leave Myanmar’s auction of two telecoms licences next month, saying the conditions set by the government did not meet their criteria for investment.
The British and Chinese operators formed a consortium to bid for some spectrum in early April and were later shortlisted to take part in the auction, alongside 11 other parties.
The deadline for final bids is this coming Monday (3 June).
“Following the publication of the final licence conditions on 20 May, the Vodafone-China Mobile consortium has reached the decision not to proceed with the process as the opportunity does not meet the strict internal investment criteria to which both Vodafone and China Mobile adhere,” the companies said in a statement. The licence conditions were not made public and only distributed to bidders.
Vodafone and China Mobile said they will continue to look at opportunities in Myanmar in the future that meet their investment criteria.
Myanmar expects to announce the winners of its two nationwide 15-year licences by 27 June.
The companies still in the process are: Malaysia-based Axiata Group; India’s Bharti Airtel; Irish-owned Digicel; France Telecom-Orange with Marubeni; Japan’s KDDI in consortium with Sumitomo; emerging markets-specialist Millicom; Africa’s MTN; Qatar’s Ooredoo (formerly Qtel); Singapore’s SingTel with KBZ and Myanmar Telephone Company (M-Tel); Norway’s Telenor; and Vietnam’s Viettel.
Myanmar has recently moved away from decades of isolationist policies and is now opening up to foreign investors. With a population of around 60 million and mobile penetration below 10%, investment opportunities are promising. However, a banking source recently commented that new entrants might meet some hurdles, including the absence of a telecoms law, which is still in the process of being drafted.
