Myanmar

From the announcement of an inaugural international telecoms tender to the awarding of lucrative oil blocks, as well as the ongoing challenge for peace in the Kachin and Rakhine states, 2013 was not short of headlines for this once isolated nation.

With wide-ranging reforms set to improve the transparency of Myanmar’s public finances, the government is expected to launch a drive aimed at bringing businesses into the mainstream economy.

The government in Myanmar is ratcheting up its efforts to ready the country for a major influx of investors, as it continues making the transition to democracy.

In September the Myanmar ICT sector will welcome two new foreign telecoms companies vying for their slice of consumers. The move is expected to create demand for a number of ICT services companies, drawing upon the efforts of web designers, network professionals and programmers. However, as with all sectors in Myanmar, education and human resources are a major bottleneck and local talent is hard to find.

Fresh legislation has paved the way for a major shift in Myanmar’s financial sector, spearheaded by the separation of the central bank from the Ministry of Finance and Revenue.

The announcement of the winners of Myanmar’s recent telecoms auction marks a further milestone in the country’s modernisation and integration into the global economy. The licensing process had attracted significant attention from some of the industry’s biggest players, as the market is largely untapped.