Digicel assembles consortium to bid for Burma telecoms licence

Digicel, the telecommunications company controlled by Denis O'Brien, has confirmed it will pursue one of two new telecoms licences on offer in Burma as part of a consortium including investor George Soros.

The consortium comprises Digicel, Soros's Quantum Strategic Partners and the Yoma Strategic Holdings group, which is run by Serge Pun, one of the most successful businessmen in Burma.

As part of the tender process, the consortium has submitted an initial pre-qualification application to the government of the country, which is also known as Myanmar.

“Digicel has been successful in entering recently liberalised markets and driving teledensity in underserved countries across the globe,” Mr O’Brien said in a statement. He added the group was “committed to rolling out a world-class telecommunications network” in Burma, where mobile penetration is currently below 10 per cent.

The company, which operates in 31 markets in the Caribbean, El Salvador, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, is one of several international telecoms companies hoping to secure the licences being offered by the country’s government.

Mr Soros said the liberalisation of the telecoms market in Burma would “serve as an important economic stimulus” for the country.

Quantum is managed by Soros Fund Management, which serves as advisor to a number of Soros family private investment funds. Mr Soros, who gained notoriety for betting against the British pound in 1992, is the 30th richest man in the world, according to Forbes magazine, with an estimated net worth of $19.2 billion.

Mr Pun’s investment is through YSH Finance Ltd, which is 80 per cent owned by Yoma Strategic Holdings, of which he is executive chairman.