Myanmar-one of the last untapped telco markets.
That was the view in a report by analysts Nomura Research earlier this year, which has got international firms hungrily eying the former closed military state. For foreign telco providers the evidence is compelling; less than two percent of the 60 million population of Myanmar (formerly Burma) are mobile phone users. Internet use is further behind. Mobile handsets have traditionally been prohibitive in price, costing up to $600 for one of the world’s poorest nations. Myanmar’s GDP per capita stands at just $1,300. Along with energy and forestry, the reformist government has earmarked the telecommunications sector for special attention in an amended foreign investment bill. The government has ambitious plans to increase mobile coverage to 50% by 2015.
For a nation that was a virtual pariah in the international community, the speed of reforms has been pretty dramatic to say the least. In response, most international sanctions have now been lifted and the public face of Myanmar, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, has been on a charm offensive throughout Europe. Myanmar is most definitely flavour of the month and represents a huge untapped market for firms such as Eriksson which has recently set up an office in the commercial capital of Yangon. Eriksson’s CSR vice president Elaine Grunewald summed it up perfectly: “With a mobile penetration below two percent, Myanmar most likely has the least developed telecommunications services in the world.”
By Ray Montgomery
