Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) and Yoma Strategic Holdings have been shut out of two highly sought mobile licences in Myanmar that the authorities awarded yesterday. Norway's Telenor and Qatar's Ooredoo beat out nine other bids to take the licences, wire services reported. France's Telecom‐Orange,
with Japan's Marubeni Corp, was named as a reserve, in case negotiations between Telenor or Ooredoo and the Myanmar authorities fall through.

This is the first time that Myanmar is opening mobile telco licences to foreign players.

SingTel, which had been seen as a front runner by market observers, was in a consortium with Myanmar's KBZ Group and Myanmar Telephone Co.

"We are disappointed by the outcome of the bid," a SingTel spokesman said. "We remain commiƩed to support Myanmar in its developments."

Myanmartycoon Serge Pun's Yoma also threw its hatin the ring with fellow businessmen Denis O'Brien's Digicel Group and George Soros's Quantum Strategic Partners.

The licences last for 15 years and require holders to meet certain targetsfor coverage.

Not winning the licence may not necessarily be a complete loss for the Singapore bidders. Licence holders face regulatory risks. Governments in emerging markets such as India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, for example, have been aggressive in taxing telcos.

Rollout costs were expected to be huge. Street estimates placed the SingTel consortium's costs at about US$1 billion to US$2 billion for the first few years.

The potential impact of a licence for Yoma would have been greater, given Yoma's relatively smaller size compared to SingTel. Whether Yoma, which is primarily in the property development business at the moment, remains involved in the telco sector is also a variable.

Source: AmFraser