Ooredoo Myanmar Explained

Ooredoo Myanmar
Industry:Telecommunications
Hq Location City:Yangon
Hq Location Country:Myanmar
Parent:Nine Communications pvt ltd.

Ooredoo Myanmar is a telecommunications company in Myanmar.

History

In June 2013, Ooredoo was chosen as one of the two successful applicants among 90 bidders to be awarded a license to operate in Myanmar, considered one of the Asia’s last remaining greenfield telecom markets.[1] Formal licenses were granted in January 2014, and Ooredoo pledged an investment of $15 billion to develop Myanmar’s telecoms sector, with plans to cover 75% of the population in five years.[2]

Following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'etat, many foreign companies exited the Burmese market, including competitor Norwegian-owned Telenor Myanmar, due to increasing pressure from military authorities.[3] On 7 September 2022, Ooredoo signed an agreement to sell Ooreedoo Myanmar to Singapore vehicle Nine Communications Pte. Ltd, at a value of $576 million USD, subject to Burmese regulatory approvals.[4] Nine Communications is the subsidiary of zLink Family Office and Nyan Win, which have close ties to the Burmese military officials like Soe Maung.[5] The deal size has courted significant scrutiny for its involvement by business proxies commonly used by the Burmese military, including entities controlled by Zaw Win Shein (of Ayeyar Hinthar) and Jonathan Kyaw Thaung (of KT Group).[6] The announcement of Ooredoo's sale prompted sharp criticism from rights groups, including Access Now, for putting the personal data of 9 million customers at the hands of the Burmese military.[7]

Leadership

In 2019, Ooredoo Myanmar appointed Rajeev Sethi as its CEO.[8]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Burma awards lucrative mobile phone contracts - BBC News . Bbc.co.uk . 2016-05-03.
  2. Web site: 2014-08-03 . Exclusive: Ooredoo CEO Dr.Nasser Marafih On Rebranding, Taxes And 2022 World Cup . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160310234231/http://www.gulfbusiness.com/articles/insights/interviews/exclusive-ooredoo-ceo-dr-nasser-marafih-on-rebranding-taxes-and-2022-world-cup/ . 2016-03-10 . 2016-05-03 . Business Gulf . Gulf Business.
  3. News: Potkin . Fanny . Aung . Thu Thu . 2022-09-05 . EXCLUSIVE Qatar's Ooredoo to sell Myanmar unit to Singapore firm-sources . en . Reuters . 2022-09-21.
  4. News: 2022-09-08 . Qatar's Ooredoo sells Myanmar unit for $576 million . en . Reuters . 2022-09-21.
  5. Web site: Irrawaddy . The . 2022-09-12 . Military Crony Linked to New Ownership of Ooredoo's Myanmar Unit . 2023-02-12 . The Irrawaddy . en-US.
  6. Web site: LuduNwayOo . 2022-11-24 . The main orchestrator behind the sale of Ooredoo Myanmar . 2023-02-12 . LuduNwayOo . en-GB.
  7. Web site: Skok . Golda Benjamin, Raman Jit Singh Chima, Wai Phyo Myint, Alexia . 2022-09-15 . Ooredoo's plans to leave Myanmar hands military full control of nation's telco sector — it must mitigate the human rights risks . 2023-02-12 . Access Now . en.
  8. Web site: Ooredoo Appoints Rajeev Sethi as new CEO for Ooredoo Myanmar. Bureau. Telecomdrive. 2019-05-28. Telecom Drive. en-US. 2019-06-17.