Myanmar’s moment: Unique opportunities, major challenges

June 2013 | byHeang Chhor, Richard Dobbs, Doan Nguyen Hansen, Fraser Thompson, Nancy Shah, and Lukas Streiff Myanmar is a highly unusual but promising prospect for businesses and investors—an underdeveloped economy with many advantages, in the heart of the world’s fastest-growing region. Home to 60 million inhabitants (46 million of working age), this Asian nation has abundant natural resources and is close to a market of half a billion people. And the country’s early stage of economic development gives it a “greenfield” advantage: an opportunity to build a “fit for purpose” economy to suit the modern world. Managed well, Myanmar could conceivably quadruple the size of its economy, from $45 billion in 2010 to more than $200 billion in 2030—creating upward of ten million nonagricultural jobs in the process. Myanmar’s moment: Unique opportunities, major challenges, a new report from the McKinsey Global Institute, discusses the challenges of meeting this ambitious goal and points to several areas that could help unlock high growth. Only a diversified economy can double its labor productivity; relying exclusively on energy and mining would not suffice. All the fundamentals—political and macroeconomic stability, the rule of law, enablers such as skills and infrastructure—must be in place. The report also finds that four areas, which have thus far received little attention, could underpin growth and productivity. 1. Harnessing digital technology. Myanmar is beginning its economic-development journey in the digital age, when mobile and Internet technology are increasingly affordable. Harnessing these tools to the fullest could help the country leapfrog to a more advanced stage of development, but that would call for an aggressive telecommunications-infrastructure plan. 2. Supporting a structural shift toward manufacturing. While other emerging economies have experienced a structural shift away from agriculture toward manufacturing, Myanmar’s reliance on agriculture has increased. Today, the country’s manufacturing sector is small in absolute terms—less than half the size of Vietnam’s—but it has the potential to be Myanmar’s largest by 2030. 3. Preparing for urbanization. The vast majority of Myanmar’s citizens live in rural areas, but this is likely to change rapidly. The share of the population in large cities could double, from just 13 percent today to around 25 percent in 2030—an additional ten million people, or two cities the size of Yangon. Myanmar would benefit from preparing for this change through investment, planning, and a shift to local governance. 4. Connecting to the world. Myanmar must consider the best way of reconnecting to the global economy through investment, trade, and flows of people. The nation potentially needs more than $170 billion of foreign capital to meet its overall investment requirement of $650 billion and should develop a targeted strategy to attract it. Trade volumes are not only low but also undiversified, and Myanmar could expand its trade opportunities and increase population flows to encourage knowledge transfers, the building of skills, and expanded tourism. To implement that agenda, Myanmar’s government is likely to require more capacity and may consider setting up a delivery unit dedicated to solving problems and driving the implementation of change. The nation’s businesses could consider their opportunities in different markets, quickly reach international quality standards, and explore foreign partnerships. International companies must move fast, be prepared to commit to Myanmar for the long term, and consider partnerships with local firms. First tier telecomm accessories supply Original Articles here

Race for Burma telecom licenses enters final stretch

By Casey Hynes Jun 05, 2013 4:06PM UTC Share: The quest for mobile licenses in Burma is heating up, with international companies submitting their final bids for contracts that would give them access to a largely untapped telecom market. Twelve companies submitted bids in April, and the winners of the two licenses up for grabs will be announced June 27. Burma has an extremely low mobile penetration rate: less than 10 percent of the population of 62 million currently use mobile phone and other telecom services. This means the market could be quite profitable for foreign telecoms that have the opportunity to develop the infrastructure in Burma and begin putting out affordable products on the market. Pic: Shutterstock.com Indian telecom leader Bharti Airtel submitted its final bid for a license on earlier this week, and is one of 11 other companies still in the running. Bharti Airtel currently has operations in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and parts of Africa. Irish company Digicel is also among those vying for one of the coveted licenses, and submitted a final bid on June 3 as part of a consortium with Burma-based Yoma Strategic Holdings and the investor and philanthropist George Soros’ Quantum Strategic Partners group. The Irish Independent reported that Digicel is so confident in their chances of being awarded a license, they have already launched a marketing campaign within Burma. The Norwegian Telenor Group is another contender for a license, and has vowed to give 99 percent of jobs created through their plans to locals, give out free SIM cards and offer low rates on calls, according to Eleven Myanmar. The news outlet quoted Telenor Executive Vice President and Head of Asia Operations Sigve Brekke as saying, “Myanmar telecommunication industry has been interested by the international firms and job opportunities will be abundant.” While the telecom landscape in Burma appears to be ripe for investment, there are risks associated with setting up business in the country. The low penetration rate presents both opportunities and obstacles, as there may be desire for greater mobile access but even low costs can be prohibitive for the extremely poor in the country. The government began distributing low-cost SIM cards (about USD $2) through a lottery system in April, which signals greater access for common citizens. The cost of a SIM card was once several hundred USD, which far exceeds the cost of SIMS and even mobile phones themselves in places such as neighboring Thailand. First tier telecomm accessories supply This white paper originally published here

NTT Com unveils financial data center in HK

NTT Communications has unveiled the new Hong Kong Financial Data Center (FDC) which is expected to work with close proximity to the data center operations of regional exchanges. NTT said the purpose-built data center offers top-notch IT and network infrastructure to address the growing needs for industries like finance and cloud business with the most stringent requirements. The Tier IV-ready FDC offers 100% uptime service level and unrivalled security measures to protect the mission-critical data assets of enterprises. The FDC comes online as Hong Kong’s finance industry is experiencing rapid changes and increasing demand for enhanced IT infrastructure. Hong Kong houses the sixth largest stock exchange in the world and capital inflow is also expected to see a meteoric rise with the launches of QDII2 and RQDII pilot scheme. Many regional financial services institutions (FSIs) are boosting their IT capabilities in preparation for increasing market opportunities. As a result, computer-driven trading is forecasted to comprise 58% for all equities trading in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia and India this year.Staff writer | June 04, 2013 telecomasia.net Phase 2 of the FDC is expected to be completed in 2015. First tier telecomm accessories supply Here’s original Articles