VOD & CHINA MOBILE - MYANMAR LICENCE CONSORTIUM

RNS Number : 5627B

Vodafone Group Plc

04 April 2013

 



4 April 2013

VODAFONE & CHINA MOBILE FORM CONSORTIUM FOR MYANMAR LICENCE

Vodafone Group Plc ("Vodafone") and China Mobile Limited ("China Mobile") today jointly announced that they have signed an agreement to form a consortium to bid for a mobile telecommunications licence in Myanmar. This strategic agreement builds on a strong relationship between the two companies dating back to 2000.

The Myanmar communications sector is about to enter a period of rapid structural expansion as the government seeks to increase the number of mobile operators from two to four while taking measures to encourage and support the development of mobile network infrastructure across the country.

With a comparatively young and highly literate population of around 60 million, a GDP growth rate of 5.5% per annum and mobile phone penetration currently below 10% - significantly lower than in many other emerging economies - Myanmar will be an important new market for the global mobile industry. The licensing round is also an opportunity to accelerate the pace of Myanmar's social and economic development through mass-market adoption of mobile services, similar to the mobile-led transformation underway within many other Asian and African countries.

The two new licences will authorise the licence holders to build, own and operate a mobile network on a nationwide basis for an initial term of 15 years. The Vodafone-China Mobile pre-qualification application has been submitted to the Myanmar authorities in line with the submission deadline of 4 April 2013. Further details of the proposed Vodafone-China Mobile consortiumwill be announced in due course. 

The consortium wishes to remind investors that the joint application for a Myanmar Telecommunications Licence by Vodafone and China Mobile is still at a preliminary stage and may or may not be ultimately successful.

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For further information:

Vodafone Group Media	Vodafone Investor Relations
[phone]	[phone]
www.vodafone.com/media	www.vodafone.com/investor
China Mobile Media Relations	China Mobile Investor Relations
[phone]	[phone]
[e-mail]	[e-mail]

Notes for Editors:

Union Government licensing round

The Myanmar communications sector is about to enter a period of rapid structural expansion as the government seeks to increase the number of mobile operators from two to four while taking measures to encourage and support the development of mobile network infrastructure across the country.

The two new licences will authorise the licence holders to build, own and operate a mobile network on a nationwide basis for an initial term of 15 years. Pre-qualification applications must be submitted by 4 April 2013.

About Vodafone

Vodafone is one of the world's largest mobile communications companies by revenue with approximately 403 million customers in its controlled and jointly controlled markets as of 31 December 2012. Vodafone currently has equity interests in over 30 countries across five continents and more than 50 partner networks worldwide. For more information, please visit: www.vodafone.com

About China Mobile

China Mobile boasts the world's largest mobile network and subscriber base. It has over 720 million subscribers by the end of February 2013. China Mobile has been selected into Fortune 500 list in 2012, Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for five consecutive years, and BrandZ™ Top 100 list by Financial Times and Millward Brown for seven consecutive years, with leading brand value in the global telecom industry. For more information, please visit www.chinamobileltd.com

 

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