Vietnam’s top telecom firm wins mobile license in Myanmar

Hanoi-based Viettel will own a 49% stake in the venture, with the rest going to 11 local firms and a company owned by the defense ministry, Myanmar media cited a recent government statement as saying.

The selection of the 15-year license came days before the power transfer from an army-backed government to the first civilian administration in decades.

Viettel has been eyeing Myanmar’s underdeveloped mobile market for years. It will be the third foreign player after Norway’s Telenor and Qatar’s Ooredoo were granted licenses and began selling phone cards in 2014.

Vietnam’s top telecom operator is serving 265 million customers in ten countries, according to its website. Its revenue in 2015 was VND222.7 trillion (US$9.93 billion), up 13% from 2014.