MTN shortlisted for Myanmar licence

At the same time, the JSE-listed mobile operator has said it plans to spend as much as US$8bn on acquisitions and is looking for opportunities in North Africa.

MTN is one of 15 operators still in the running for a potentially lucrative mobile telecommunications licence in Myanmar, various news wires reported on Thursday [11 April 2013].

The shortlist has been whittled down from 90 companies that had expressed an interest in two mobile licences that will soon be up for grabs in the Southeast Asian nation, which is one of the world's least connected countries.

...Reuters reported on Thursday that of the 15 candidates remaining in the bidding, a further shortlist of about four will now be created, with two licences eventually being awarded after an evaluation process. The news wire quoted Dabengwa [MTN CEO, Sifiso Dabengwa] as saying that JSE-listed group, which has a market capitalisation of R309bn, is prepared to spend between US$4bn and $8bn (R36bn and R72bn) on acquisitions across Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

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