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Johannesburg - MTN Group [JSE:MTN] has joined a group of 90 companies vying for one of two mobile network licences in Myanmar, it was reported on Thursday.
MTN chief executive Sifiso Dabengwa told Business Day Myanmar had a population of 60 million, but that mobile phone penetration was only 5%.
"I think it would be an excellent opportunity," Dabengwa told the newspaper.
However, Dabengwa told the newspaper it would be a challenging venture as Myanmar was a different market from the ones to which MTN was accustomed.
The Myanmar government was targeting mobile penetration of 80% by 2016 through the new licences, the newspaper said.
In other markets, Dabengwa said MTN continued to work closely with all the relevant authorities to manage United States and European Union sanctions against Iran and Syria, where the company had operations.
MTN said the crisis in Syria had deepened and that economic activity in a number of towns and commercial centres had been disrupted.
In Iran, the rollout of some projects had been slower than expected because of delayed delivery of equipment and the effects of sanctions on imported equipment.
