Japan\\\'s KDDI, Sumitomo eye $2.0b Myanmar telecom deal

Japanese mobile carrier KDDI said on Thursday that it planned to link up with trading house Sumitomo in deal to invest about $2.0 billion in developing wireless networks in Myanmar, as the country opens up after years of military rule. The move will see the Japanese giants pair up for a joint venture with state-owned Myanma Posts & Telecommunications (MPT). The tie-up would invest 200 billion yen ($2.0b) over a decade to boost phone networks in a country where only about 10 per cent of the 65-million strong population has access to mobile phones, KDDI said, one of the lowest rates in the world. The business, KDDI Summit Global Myanmar (KSGM), would upgrade the domestic carrier’s existing network and expand mobile coverage, the spokesman said. ‘KSGM is expected to make an investment of about 200b yen over the next 10 years, and most of it will be used for developing the network,’ he added, according to UNB.