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Tag: Myanmar

  • Myanmar to launch own satellite in 2019

    Myanmar to launch own satellite in 2019

    The Myanmar government plans to launch its own communications satellite in June 2019 at a cost of $155.7 million.

    MyanmarSat 2 will have six C-band transponders and six KU-Band transponders with 864MHz of total bandwidth.

    The satellite will be at least partly owned by the government, unlike the MyanmarSat 1 which is being used under a lease model.

    The government is considering three potential ownership models – paying to lease a condosat transponder from another country, a joint ownership model or total ownership of the system. The joint ownership model has been favored by the Union Minister of Transport and Communications.

    Because the project would be most effective if all the capacity of the satellite is being utilized, the government is also exploring co-operation with the private sector. State-owned MPT has already proposed to lease 72MHz of the satellite’s total capacity.

    News of the Myanmar project came days after the Cambodian government announced plans to launch its first communications satellite by as early as 2021. This project also has an estimated budget of around $150 million.

  • Myanmar internet-led models yet to scale but heading towards transactional phase

    Myanmar internet-led models yet to scale but heading towards transactional phase

    New internet-enabled businesses are making an appearance in frontier Myanmar, which is witnessing a telecom boom period with operators putting their might on expanding network infrastructure to meet the growing demand for data services.

    While e-commerce and consumer internet startups are yet to scale, they are slowly heading towards the “transactional” phase and launching new models borrowing from successful regional ideas but adapting them to the local market.

    Consider these developments: In the new office in Mingalar Taung Nyunt township of local content creator Myanmar Online Creations (MOC), an employee at  Onlyinburma.com, targeted to be a destination point for locals, and Langyaung.com, a local business directory, is busy uploading content for the sites.

    The company has got five apps running since its launch late last year and it is already looking to roll out a few more to touch 10 apps by the end of 2017. MOC, led by Win Ohn, also the CEO and president of Canada-based MediaNation, aims to bring new dotcom technology in Myanmar language.

    Meanwhile, in mid-August, an online wedding gift service platform named MingalarLetPhwet.com was launched to address the issue of unwanted and repetitive wedding gifts. The site has brought together suppliers of over 5,000 wedding gift related products while it is free to use for customers.

    In July, Swiss media group Ringier and Myanmar-based Information Matrix Co Ltd joined hands for their ventures, marry.com.mm (based on popular Vietnamese model marry.vn) and parenting platform kalay.com.mm. Revenue model for these engines are built around wedding fairs and workshops.

    The market also saw the launch of Flair Eyes, which allows local photographers to upload photos and video clips for use through a subscription or per piece basis.

    Ecosystem enablers

    The development of such business oriented platforms indicate the improved contribution from different stakeholders in the ecosystem in Myanmar since the military ceded power in 2011.

    The expansion of the telecom market, since the approval of foreign telecom operators, Telenor and Ooredoo, has by May 2016 reached a coverage of 43.72 million compared to the country’s total population of 54 million. Also compare the current SIM card cost K1500 ($1.3) to the previaling rates of  a staggering K4000,000 ($3,412) in 2006.

    Apart from the favourable macro indicators, the region is also beginning to see action surrounding funding of startups. Ride hailing platforms like Uber and Grab’s announcement of $100 million investment in Myanmar has captured the attention of investors.

    Recent startup funding developments include freelancing platform Chate Sat and comic application White Merak raising a six-digit investment each. JobNet.com.mm, a job website under the umbrella of MMOne Online Co Ltd, also raised a seven digit investment this year. Prior to that, their sister company, ShweProperty.com raised a six digit sum from some institutional investors.

    Other significant updates from the startup world include MyPlay’s acquisition by ASX-listed iSentric and Malaysian movie streaming company iflix establishing presence in Myanmar.

    Sumit Jasoria, MD, shop.com.mm feels, “the mindset has changed after global players came in. Local investors are also looking at the right team.”

    Ohn says, what is currently hurting e-commerce adoption and growth is lack of universal gateway. However, online retailers and users have seemingly found a way around it by relying on cash on delivery option. “It is a ‘a very creative way and a grassroot step as we evolve into e-commerce shopping and buying. I forsee a lot of solutions addressing the universal online banking credit card payment solution,” said Ohn.

    Meanwhile, a lot of payment solutions are appearing to address the issue of online payments such as Wave Money, a financial service provider of Telenor and Yoma Bank; Ooredoo’s mobile wallet M-Pitesan and 1-Stop, a partnership between Singapore-based payment service 2C2P and Myanma Awba.

    Popular retail platforms like Rocket Internet’s shop.com.mm is experimenting with offering more discounts on usage of card payments. “The idea is to create an ecosystem which helps consumers to also try cards,” said Sumit Jasoria, managing director of shop.com.mm, which has been in Myanmar for three years.

    He argues that 70 per cent of businesses in neighboring Asian countries are still using cash on delivery while the number for Myanmar is just higher, making about 90 per cent. “I think it is catching up, soon it will change for sure,” said Jasoria.

    Internet models, local twist

    Jes Kaliebe Petersen, CEO of Phandeeyar a leading Innovation Lab in Myanmar, says, the next wave of startups will be targeting a much broader audience, people present outside the city, and the new generation of smart phone users. The majority of those residing outside large cities in Myanmar use data only for Facebook and Viber.

    “The business that will emerge as the leaders in the area (online business platforms) are those who manage to handle the logistics and payments issues in a reliable manner and get people not just to buy on Facebook but also from their own apps,” said Petersen.

    A recent survey by MyanZen – the winner of Telenor Myanmar’s first accelerate program that allows social sellers to effectively sell on social network – shows that there are over 3,500 Facebook stalls involved in online shopping business in Myanmar.

    While the emergence of new business ideas are keeping up, Ohn says, it is encouraging to see a lot of companies like them starting to build the platforms and grow the awareness of the general public.

    Business ideas, that are successful in neighbouring countries, find favour in Myanmar.

    “We will always encourage the people in our accelerator to look at what’s going on elsewhere and use that as an inspiration for what can be done in Myanmar,” said Petersen.

    Shop.com.mm is also starting to replicate models of Daraz’ work in other countries and introducing fashion related products from Korea and Thailand on their platform after evaluating the consumer preference in Myanmar.

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  • MPT has Myanmar’s fastest mobile speeds

    MPT has Myanmar’s fastest mobile speeds

    Myanmar’s MPT has the fastest internet speeds among the nation’s major mobile operators, according to a new report from Ookla’s Speedtest service.

    An analysis of the results of user-initiated tests over the Speedtest Android and iOS mobile apps indicates that MPT had an overall speed score of 11.45 during the first half of the year.

    The speed score is calculated by factoring in both a user’s download and upload speeds, with the former contributing to 90% of the final score and the latter constituting the remaining 10%.

    MPT had average download speeds of 12.41Mbps for the period covered in the report, and average upload speeds of 7.47Mbps.

    MPT is expanding its mobile network in collaboration with Japanese partners KDDI and Sumitomo.

    The operator’s closest rival, Telenor Myanmar, achieved a speed score of 10.51, based on download speeds of 10.97Mbps and upload speeds of 6.46Mbps. Ooredoo achieved a score of 6.23 with download speeds of 6.61Mbps and upload speeds of 2.87Mbps.

    Over the six month period, Myanmar’s average mobile download speeds reached 12.03Mbps and upload speeds reached 7.4Mbps after a sharp jump in both averages between April to June.

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  • Japanese operator plans 50 Myanmar noodle restaurants

    Japanese operator plans 50 Myanmar noodle restaurants

    Japanese noodle restaurant operator Toridoll Holdings plans to open 50 outlets in Myanmar with a local joint venture partner.

    The Myanmar noodle restaurants, in partnership with YKKO, will target the nation’s growing middle class.

    The first has already opened in Yangon, selling bowls of noodles for as little as US48 cents, with serving sizes to suit budgets and appetites. Ingredients are sourced locally and from neighbouring Thailand to minimise overheads.

    Toridoll, based in Kobe, already operates about 900 eateries in Japan and another 380 across 30 offshore markets, including Vietnam, the Philippines, China, Cambodia and Indonesia. Japan’s perpetually shrinking population has prompted the company to look abroad for growth – it has ambitious plans to operate 4000 restaurants abroad in 2025.

    Meanwhile,

    YKKO is an abbreviation of its the name of its first restaurant, Kyay-Oh, which opened in Yankin.

  • Myanmar’s Global Technology to deploy LTE

    Myanmar’s Global Technology to deploy LTE

    Myanmar broadband service provider Global Technology Group has revealed plans to roll out LTE-based wireless broadband services in 30 cities starting in April.

    The operator plans offer high-end wireless broadband services to both residential and business customers.

    The rollout will cover cities in the Nay Pyi Taw, Magway, Bagon, Mon, Kayin and Tanintharyi regions, to cater to an anticipated spike in demand for data traffic as a result of the growing popularity of streaming based services.

    Global Technology Group secured a network facilities service license in 2015 and a fiber network license in March. So far the operator has deployed FTTx based broadband services to the Yangon, Mandalay and Bago regions.

    The company competes with state-owned operator Myanmar Post and Telecom (MPT), which commenced an FTTH deployment in August and currently serves over 80% of the nation’s FTTH customers.

    MPT has announced a target of expanding the reach of its FTTH network to cover the entire country in 2018.

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  • Ooredoo Myanmar launches mobile money service

    Ooredoo Myanmar launches mobile money service

    Ooredoo Myanmar has announced the launch of a new mobile money service branded M-Pitesan.

    The new service will allow instant money transfer and payments between local mobile numbers through a dedicated mobile wallet for Ooredoo customers or a store for non-registered users.

    Ooredoo said M-Pitesan is the only mobile money service in Myanmar that offers real-time tracking between CB Bank accounts and the mobile wallet.

    In addition, mobile customers can transfer or receive money through the operator’s network of 2,400 M-Pitesan agents in Yangon, Naypyitaw, Mandalay, Bago and Taunggyi. The company plans to add an additional 7,500 agents to its network in the future, mainly in rural and underserved areas.

    The operator is planning to expand the service in the future to support functionality including QR code payments and bill payments for utilities or municipal services.

    “There is real appetite for mobile money services in Myanmar. I am confident that M-Pitesan will give customer’s access to the digital financial services they have been asking us for, helping support their increasingly digital lifestyles,” Ooredoo Myanmar acting CEO Vikram Sinha said.

    “We have big plans for M-Pitesan and in the months to come will be expanding the service to include additional functionality for customers, banks and businesses alike.”

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  • Contactless payments coming to Myanmar

    Contactless payments coming to Myanmar

    Myanmar’s Co-Operative Limited Bank (CB Bank) will next month facilitate contactless payments acceptance in Myanmar.

    CB Bank will facilitate the development of a network of Mastercard Contactless-enabled merchants across over 5,000 of its access points in Myanmar by the end of 2017, including supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol stations.

    “The launch of contactless payments is an important step forward for Myanmar’s e-payment journey. Contactless payments delivers greater convenience and security to consumers and merchants and is widely adopted as a preferred payment mode all around the world,” Mastercard country manager for Thailand and Myanmar Donald Ong said.

    A little over a year before this announcement by Mastercard and CB Bank, the two organizations made a similar claim to launching the country’s first contactless payment service in the form of CB EasiTravel Prepaid MasterCard Contactless card.

    The difference was that the 2016 announcement was focused on contactless payments for Myanmar consumers traveling outside the country. The October launch will see contactless payment extended locally for everyday purchases.

    What is consistent is the intent to provide payment experience that is fast, safe and convenient according to U Kyaw Lynn, CEO & Vice Chairman at CB Bank.

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  • Myanmar’s MyTel to launch 4G in 1H18

    Myanmar’s MyTel to launch 4G in 1H18

    Vietnamese operator Viettel’s joint venture in Myanmar plans to launch 4G-only services in the first quarter of next year.

    The joint venture, MyTel, plans to cover 90% of the population by its official launch, deploying nearly 7,200 base stations and 33,000km of fiber. This footprint would be double that of its nearest rival.

    According to the news agency, in contrast to previous reports MyTel does not plan to deploy 2G or 3G in Myanmar but will instead jump straight to 4G.

    MyTel is a joint venture between Vietnamese military-run Viettel and a consortium of local ICT companies. The venture received Myanmar’s fourth telecoms license in January, and now has branches across the country and around 2,000 employees.

    The deployment has a total investment of around $1.5 billion, with Viettel contributing a 49% stake.

    MyTel plans to offer roaming to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia at prices equivalent to local charges, the report states. The company also plans to build on its deployment in Myanmar to pursue expansion to 10 overseas market, it adds without elaborating.

  • Myanmar’s startups map past, shape future with virtual reality

    Myanmar’s startups map past, shape future with virtual reality

    Few countries in the world have experienced such rapid discovery of technology than Myanmar.  Gasps echo across the hall as the Myanmar school kids trial virtual reality goggles, marveling at a device that allows some of Asia’s poorest people to walk on the moon or dive beneath the waves.

    “In Myanmar we can’t afford much to bring students to the real world experience,” beamed Hla Hla Win, a teacher and tech entrepreneur taking virtual reality into the classroom.

    “If they’re learning about animals we can’t take them to the zoo… 99 percent of parents don’t have time, don’t have money, don’t have the means,” she added.

    Few countries in the world have experienced such rapid discovery of technology than Myanmar which has leapfrogged from the analogue to the digital era in just a few years.

    During the decades of outright junta rule, which ended in 2011, it was one of the world’s most isolated nations, a place where a mobile phone sim card could cost up to $3,000.

    For half a century its paranoid generals cut off the country, restricting sales of computers, heavily censoring the Internet and blocking access to foreign media reports.

    But today phone towers are springing up around the country and almost 80 percent of the population have access to the Internet through smartphones, according to telecoms giant Telenor.

    Budding startups

    Tech startups are emerging around the commercial capital Yangon, many seeking to improve the lives of rural people, most of whom still live without paved roads or electricity.

    “The increase in activity from last year till now — new startups, more people determined to become entrepreneurs and working in the tech sector in general — is significant,” said Jes Kaliebe Peterson, CEO of community hub Phandeeyar.

    Virtual reality is the latest advance to cause a stir, with a handful of entrepreneurs embracing tech for projects including preserving ancient temple sites to shaping young minds of the future.

    The Phandeeyar incubator works with more than 140 startups. Among them Hla Hla Win’s virtual reality social enterprise 360ed which is using affordable cardboard VR goggles attached to smartphones to break down barriers in Myanmar’s classrooms.

    She founded the non-profit last year after 17 years working in the woefully underfunded education system in a bid to bring learning to life.

    “I see it as an empathy machine where we can teleport ourselves to another place right away,” she told.

    And it’s not just school children who benefit from stepping into places they could only ever dream of visiting.

    360ed has used virtual reality to help Myanmar teachers attend training courses in Japan and Finland and is working on setting up deals with schools in India, Pakistan, China and Bangladesh.

    “With VR there’s no divider, there’s no distance,” Hla Hla Win said.

  • Myanmar’s KBZ Bank adopts virtualization

    Myanmar’s KBZ Bank adopts virtualization

    Myanmar’s Kanbawza Bank (KBZ Bank) plans to virtualize its data center to help support the nation’s growing digital economy.

    KBZ Bank will be modernizing its IT infrastructure for the benefit of all 482 branches as well as representative offices in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.

    With more than 40% market share of the commercial and retail banking business in Myanmar, KBZ Bank recognizes innovation and digital transformation to be crucial in its expansion at home and abroad.

    The virtualized and agile environment provides bank employees with a digital workspace and the freedom to work on any device, giving them more opportunities to collaborate internally with others at the bank.

    When asked about KBZ’s broader digital plan, KBZ Bank’s CEO and advisor to the chairman Mike De Noma replied, “This is just one of the many steps we will be taking to do our part to support the government’s efforts to make Myanmar a digital leader in the decade ahead and to maintain its position as a mobile first nation.”

    Virtualization across the entire infrastructure from compute to storage and network allows KBZ Bank to scale up or down based on business needs, driving down operational and ownership costs significantly and simplifying IT management. The stability of the environment also ensures system up-time of its ATMs and branches, and boosts the bank’s ability to respond faster to demand spikes.

    The bank will use software-defined data center technologies to provide more secure services and new applications to cater to the growing demand for digital services from corporate, SME and retail customers.

    As Myanmar opens up further to foreign investment, the risk of cyber-attacks also increases for businesses. For its part, KBZ Bank is strengthening the security of data and processes through a virtualized network with VMware NSX which tags specific IT policies to each individual workload.

    Each workload is protected from attackers who manage to breach the perimeter defenses of a data center, enhancing the security of KBZ Bank’s IT infrastructure and better safeguarding the confidential information of its customers.

  • Yusen Logistics opens new logistics centre in Myanmar

    Yusen Logistics opens new logistics centre in Myanmar

    On July 12, Yusen Logistics held an opening ceremony for Thilawa Logistics Centre in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Myanmar.

    The event was attended by Thilawa SEZ Management Committee Vice Chairman Cho Cho Win; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Embassy of Japan in Myanmar Tateshi Higuchi; Myanmar Japan Thilawa Development Limited (MJTD) Chairman Thein Han; Mitsubishi Corporation Chief Representative for Myanmar Mitsuo Ido, Yusen Logistics Co., Ltd.; Kenji Mizushima; Yusen Logistics (Myanmar) Co., Ltd. President Yasuhiko Nojima; and Yusen Logistics (Thilawa) Co., Ltd. President Tatsuhiko Saeki.

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  • Singapore Myanmar Investco reports encouraging initial retail results at Yangon International

    Singapore Myanmar Investco reports encouraging initial retail results at Yangon International

    Singapore Myanmar Investco Limited has reported revenue of US$13.3 million in its travel and fashion retail segment for the year ended 31 March 2017.

    Subsidiary SMI Retail only began duty free operations at Yangon International Airport in September 2016, meaning there is little meaningful basis for year-on-year comparison. The company was awarded contracts for duty free, other retail and food & beverage outlets in 6,700sq m of space at the airport’s new International Terminal in December 2015.

    The 6,700sq m of retail space includes a multibrand and multicategory duty free area of almost 2,000sq m on three levels

    Singapore Myanmar Investco Limited reported overall group revenue of US$23.3 million for the year, and a gross profit of US$4.8 million. Net of tax, the company reported a loss of US$7.3 million.

    “The initial results of retail operations at Yangon International Airport are encouraging although it will take time for the new terminal to reach traffic flows at projected levels,” said SMI President and CEO Mark Bedingham in the company’s annual report.

    “We have received much positive feedback from passengers and the airport management company on the quality of the duty free and travel retail stores that we have created and this initial success has been widely noticed in the city itself.

    “Notably, we have used our relationship with DFS to supply a comprehensive portfolio of international wines & spirits and beauty brands for both departures and arrivals at Yangon International Airport and have introduced more than 30 international fashion and lifestyle brands to create an outstanding retail experience for this very modern, newly-built terminal.

    “This new terminal has dramatically increased the capacity of Yangon International Airport to meet the expected rapid rise in international travellers; for business, for tourism and for Myanmar nationals who are also starting to travel overseas in greater numbers. This new terminal is already scheduled for further expansion and this will undoubtedly create new opportunities for SMI in travel retail at the airport.”

    Bedingham also noted that a number of mall owners and developers in Myanmar saw SMI as a “highly desirable partner”. He continued: “We have been pleased to work with Junction City – a new integrated upscale development in downtown Yangon. We have been able to introduce several international brands that we work with at the airport into Junction City and nearly all of these retail stores have been opened by the end of April 2017.”

    SMI signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Shiseido Asia Pacific in February 2017 and the first Shiseido flagship counter in Myanmar will open in Junction City by mid-year 2017.

    Non-Executive Chairman Ho Kwok Wai said that SMI would now move focus on organic growth across its diversified business portfolio.

    He noted a World Bank report issued on 30 January 2017 which stated that Myanmar’s economy will grow an average of +7.1% per year in the next three years.

    “The landscape in Myanmar was very different when we began our transformation in 2013 but our objective for the group remains the same: to build a diversified business model to capitalise on the strong trends in consumer spending, international tourism and infrastructure investment in this frontier market,” he said.

    “From the encouraging results shown in our portfolio of businesses so far, there is positive sentiment that we are on the cusp of major advances in Myanmar, with strong growth potential.”

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  • CEVA opens an office in Myanmar

    CEVA opens an office in Myanmar

    As part of its strategic expansion in the emerging Mekong markets, CEVA Logistics, one of the world’s largest supply chain management companies, has opened its office in Myanmar’s capital, Yangon.

    For the last five years, CEVA has been operational in the country through a network partner, providing freight management services to a number of multinational and local customers.

    Effective June 2017, the company now has its own office, offering the full spectrum of air and ocean freight services with access to the CEVA network using One Freight System (OFS) – CEVA’s global system which manages all freight movements worldwide.

    Myanmar presents considerable potential for growth with strong demand for both import and export services. Imports comprise mainly industrial materials for infrastructure, consumer goods and machinery, whilst exports of commodities, agricultural products and goods for the retail sector drive the outbound trade. With its expertise in the industrial and consumer and retail sectors among others, CEVA is well positioned to offer professional and competitive services.

    “Myanmar is a country with real opportunities for growth. It has a population of some 55 million people who are looking to companies like CEVA to provide supply chain services to support their developing business and meet their requirements. In the past, the country infrastructure has always been a limiting and inhibiting factor but with our global network and more importantly, our experience in emerging markets, especially in the region, we are confident that with our own office and robust IT offerings we can deliver options and solutions to the market and at the same time grow our commercial footprint”, says Bruno Plantaz, CEVA’s managing director Mekong cluster.

  • MPT upgrading new LTE network to 4×4 MIMO

    MPT upgrading new LTE network to 4×4 MIMO

    Myanmar Post and Telecom (MPT) has adopted 4×4 multiple input multiple output (MIMO) technology for its recently-launched 4G network covering Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw.

    The operator is using LTE-Advanced technology capable of internet speeds of up to 150Mbps in 47 townships across the three cities.

    MPT meanwhile plans to extend its LTE-Advanced network to Bago, Taunggyi, Mawlamyine, Monywa, and Patheingyi in July and to 20 other major cities the following month, the report states. The deployment is expected to cover all 30 major cities in the nation by November.

    MPT announced the commencement of its LTE rollout last month after securing approval along with the market’s other operators to use 1800-MHz spectrum for 4G. The state-owned operator has partnered with Japan’s KDDI and Sumitomo for its mobile operations.

    As part of its deployment, the operator is offering customers the ability to swap their existing 3G SIMs for a 4G SIM while maintaining their current phone number.

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  • Myanmar cellcos cleared to use 1800 for 4G

    Myanmar cellcos cleared to use 1800 for 4G

    Myanmar’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) has granted permission to the market’s mobile operators to launch 4G over the 1800-MHz spectrum assigned to them.

    Mynmar Posts and Telecommunications, Telenor Myanmar and Ooredoo Myanmar have been cleared to use 2x10MHz of 1800-MHz spectrum allocated under a 12 year license.

    Operators will be required to pay an $80 million usage fee, the ministry’s Posts and Telecommunications Department has revealed.

    State-owned MPT has announced that with the approval the operator will be expanding its network to 4G, starting with the cities of Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon, and Mandalay. The operator will offer customers the ability to swap their existing 2G and 3G SIMs to a 4G SIM free of charge.

    MPT has teamed up with KDDI and Sumitomo for its mobile operations as part of the liberalization of Myanmar’s telecoms sector.

    Telenor Myanmar and Ooredoo Myanmar will meanwhile be able to use the spectrum to expand their respective 4G operations to more cities and regions.

    Telenor Myanmar launched 4G services in July last year, and now offers 4G in 19 cities. Ooredoo Myanmar launched 4G in May  in Yangon, Mandalay, and Nay Pyi Taw, and has since expanded the network to the Magwe Region.

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