MTN's Myanmar licence bid gathers momentum

MTN stepped up its awareness campaign in South East Asia today by detailing its unparalleled track record in emerging markets to the Myanmar media.

The initiative is in support of MTN's bid for the Myanmar telecommunications licence, for which the Johannesburg-headquartered mobile operator has been pre-qualified along with 11 other mobile players.

MTN is one of the world's largest mobile operators, with nearly 200 million subscribers across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. MTN has market capitalisation of $36 billion, annual revenues of $18 billion, and is a market leader in 70% of the 22 countries in which it operates.

Determined to expand its global footprint ever further, MTN is now addressing the South East Asian mobile market.

Serame Taukobong, MTN Executive, said MTN is committed to rolling out a nationwide, world-class network in Myanmar, providing high-quality voice and super-fast data communication, Internet services, mobile money and other industry-specific services.

"We are confident that our demonstrable track record will place MTN in good stead to be awarded one of Myanmar's two telecommunications licences," said Taukobong, adding that MTN had built a solid mobile operator reputation through investment in infrastructure, including the deployment of 2G, 3G and LTE networks.

He said MTN's experience in operating in some of the world's most difficult terrains would facilitate rapid rollout across all of Myanmar's regions.

"One of our most recent network infrastructure rollout achievements was in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation with more than 161 million people, where we brought 1 414 2G and 1 175 3G sites online during 2012 alone. During the same year, MTN Nigeria added 5.8 million subscribers and recorded four million active 3G devices on its network," explained Taukobong.

He added that MTN Nigeria invested over $1 billion in network capacity during 2012, and supported 53 000 small and medium-sized enterprise retailers. Last year, MTN Group ploughed back $11 million into communities across its markets in support of education, health and enterprise development initiatives.

"These are big numbers and they speak to MTN's sheer corporate will and determination to build networks and deliver products that reach deeply into the population of the markets that we are active in.

"While our network achievements are noteworthy, it is the impact that our innovative products and services have had on people that we are most proud of. They have fundamentally transformed lives, accelerated the economic development of our markets, and brought sustainable transformation, because MTN understands not only the complexities of emerging markets, but also knows how to address their needs," explained Taukobong.

He said MTN was looking forward to welcoming Myanmar into MTN's Bold New Digital World, with affordable, lifestyle-enhancing services and community development programmes that address the population's socio-economic needs.

"We are also excited about the prospects of adding the Myanmar people to our diverse global workforce of approximately 27 000, comprising more than 50 nationalities. MTN has a proven skills transfer practice through job rotation and cross-border deployment of staff across our 22 operations, and these opportunities will also be available to the staff of MTN Myanmar," added Taukobong.

He said MTN has also invested in local talent across all its markets and has provided training through its world-renowned training institution, the MTN Academy. The academy will offer training to Myanmar staff across eight streams that include business skills, customer care, commercial, sales and distribution.

"We look forward with great enthusiasm to bring our expertise to Myanmar," said Taukobong.

- Issued by MTN Group Corporate Affairs