Viettel picked for Myanmar telecom JV

The Myanmar government has selected Vietnamese military-run operator Viettel as the international partner for the consortium likely to be granted the nation's fourth telecom license.

Viettel has been selected from a pool of seven contestants and been granted the rights to negotiate with the local consortium over a potential partnership, the Myanmar Times reported.

According to the report, only five of the entrants were deemed eligible to apply, and Viettel was the only one of these five to submit an application before the March 18 deadline.

If negotiations go well Viettel will become a minority shareholder in a company established by a consortium of 11 local companies from the technology and other sectors, as well as a subsidiary of the Myanmar military run Myanmar Economic Corporation.

The joint venture is expected to be granted the market's fourth nationwide telecom license, after Telenor Myanmar, Ooredoo Myanmar and the consortium between Myanmar Posts and Telecom (MPT) and Japan's KDDI.

Viettel is expected to pay 49% of the $300 million license fee, equivalent to its stake in the venture.