Qatari telecoms group Ooredoo to exit Myanmar, following Norway’s Telenor
Qatari telecommunications group Ooredoo has agreed to sell its Myanmar business to a Singapore-registered company in a deal that would see the company exit the troubled south-east Asian nation.
Ooredoo Asian Investments, which owns Ooredoo Myanmar and Ooredoo Myanmar Fintech, will be sold to Nine Communications for an enterprise value of $576mn, according to a news release issued on September 8.
Ooredoo is thought to rank lowest in terms of subscribers among Myanmar’s four wireless carriers, trailing military-affiliated latecomer Mytel.
Human rights groups had urged the sale following the military takeover of Myanmar in February 2021.
“The difficult decision to divest from our Myanmar business is a direct result of this review to reshape our portfolio as a leading telecommunications company,” Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo, chief executive of Ooredoo Group, said in the news release. “We will ensure a smooth transition with the least possible disruption adhering to all local requirements.”
This article is from Nikkei Asia, a global publication with a uniquely Asian perspective on politics, the economy, business and international affairs. Our own correspondents and outside commentators from around the world share their views on Asia, while our Asia300 section provides in-depth coverage of 300 of the biggest and fastest-growing listed companies from 11 economies outside Japan.
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The transaction is subject to approval by Myanmar authorities.
Nine Communications is a special purpose company partly owned by Nyan Win, a telecom industry figure with more than 40 years of experience in the field, the news release said.
Ooredoo was one of two foreign companies approved to enter Myanmar’s telecom sector in 2014. The other, Norway’s Telenor, completed its divestiture and exited the country in March 2022. The former Telenor Myanmar rebranded as Atom in June.
A version of this article was first published by Nikkei Asia on September 9 2022. ©2022 Nikkei Inc. All rights reserved
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