タグ: Burma

                    ( Photo:Telenor Website Myanmar)

                                       by David Parmer

If you are looking toward politics as the driving force for change in Myanmar, you are probably looking in the wrong direction. For technology, not politics, is transforming what was formerly one of the world’s most reclusive countries. And the leading agent of  technological change is the mobile phone. Myanmar’s mobile phone revolution is letting the country bypass the personal computer phase of development and go directly to handset and tablet.

 The Nikkei Asia Review reported that there were 10.7 million mobile subscribers by the end of September 2014, up 87% from the end of 2013. The mobile penetration rate stands at 20%, with the government predicting 80% 3G penetration by 2016. Prices for SIM cards have plummeted and competition for subscribers is fierce.

Since the lifting of sanctions in 2013 two foreign firms have been allowed to enter the Myanmar market. They are Ooredoo from Qatar, and Telenor Group from Norway. Both companies have experience is emerging markets, and both are off to a good start. Competition between the two firms is intense, with Telenor taking the lead in number of subscribers causing Ooredoo to find a new Myanmar CEO to head up operations in 2015.

 Forbes magazine lists Myanmar as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Years of military rule and isolation have left the country with a stunted infrastructure for its mostly-agricultural economy. Infrastructure is not the only drawback in doing business in Myanmar, a lack of trained, tech-savvy bi-lingual staff is also a challenge. And as for e-commerce, Tech In Asia reports that there is both a lack of vendors and a lack of logistics ability to handle a vibrant e-commerce sector.

 So far, the new Myanmar is an Android nation with estimates of the number of Android users being anywhere from 75-95% of total users. Also, Shenzen-based Huawei dominates the handset market, with Samsung coming in second. For those who are interested in predicting trends in Myanmar, technology might be a better focus than politics, because in the world of hyper-tech, politics is yesterday’s news.

 Forbes The Rebirth of Burma

http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesinternational/2015/01/09/the-rebirth-of-burma/