The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Insight - Disconnected for decades, Myanmar poised for telecoms boom
- Former U.S. Army officer pleads guilty to murder conspiracy charges
- Supporters throw stones in Venezuela pre-election clash
| Insight - Disconnected for decades, Myanmar poised for telecoms boom Posted: 12 Sep 2012 07:40 PM PDT YANGON (Reuters) - Blackberrys and iPhones aren't much use in Myanmar, where its only network is frequently jammed, data services are scarce, prices extortionate, lines crackly and most phones don't roam. For decades, its telecoms industry has been a shambles. It's no surprise this country of 60 million people has the world's second-lowest cellphone penetration after North Korea; SIM cards are made prohibitively pricey to prevent its tiny network from becoming overloaded, while emailing and web-surfing on phones is so rare it's almost a bourgeois concept. Even getting hooked up to the network is cumbersome. Visitors must rent SIM cards at the airport on arrival while many Burmese can only afford one-time SIMs with a number that expires after a few days when its $20 of credit runs out. But as Myanmar races ahead with economic reforms, the telecoms sector, riven with graft and mismanagement and lagging behind even Asia's poorest countries, is on the verge of a major shake-up as part of a "reform plan" to liberalise one of the world's last remaining greenfield telcos markets. Details of the plan are scant, but Myanmar appears to have finally got its act together and insiders say it could announce its plans this week. Eager to attract foreign investors to one of Asia's poorest countries, the government could make telecoms the first sector to be liberalised. After a year of stumbling and opaque deals that favoured vested local interests, speed and transparency now appear to be the priority. "We're going to finish it soon, we really cannot wait," Kyaw Soe, a senior official at the Ministry of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs, told Reuters. "It's closely related to economic growth of our nation, so this is a priority sector." Last month, 11 companies from 10 countries, including Japan, Australia, Germany and the United States, were short-listed from 64 applicants to become consultants and prepare a telecoms license tender. The list is now down to three. Kyaw Soe said a total of four operating licenses would be granted; two for Myanmar companies and two for foreign firms, with 4G services targeted as early as 2013. A regulator would be formed and state-owned Myanmar Post and Telecommunication -- the country's sole operator -- would be privatised to form the Myanmar Telecoms Company (MTC), which would be awarded one of the cellphone licenses, he said. Another would go to Internet service provider Yataraporn Teleport. MOUTHWATERING MARKET A Myanmar telecoms source said it was unlikely the two local firms had the resources to operate alone and would likely form joint ventures, but it was unclear whether more than two foreign firms would be allowed to operate. Myanmar's low penetration and the hunger for going mobile in a virtually untapped country are mouth-watering prospects for international telecoms firms. Usage is extremely low, at just 1.24 percent of the population in 2010, compared with 64 percent in Laos, 57 percent in Cambodia and more than 100 percent in Thailand and Malaysia where individual ownership of multiple phones pushes usage above population levels, according to the Asian Development Bank. The Myanmar government says the current level is 5.6 percent, but experts doubt that. "The potential is clear to see, but whether that is realised depends on regulation," said Ramakrishna Maruvada, regional head of telecom research at Daiwa Capital Markets. "The problem for foreign firms is there's very little detail in terms of timelines and structure, so very little to hang on to." Among companies that have confirmed an interest in Myanmar are Sweden's TeliaSonera AB, and two specialists in emerging Asian markets, Malaysia's Axiata and Norway's Telenor, which both operate in Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan and Bangladesh, among others. "When this opens up, the potential is so big, so we'll expect a lot of interest. There's not many of these markets left in the world," said Telenor Group's Glenn Mandelid. "If they get the framework in place and there's security for our investment and all the clarity we need... then we'll be interested." One firm that may have an advantage is Digicel, which operates in 31 countries and has already presented a technical and commercial assessment to the government on how to expand the network to reach the majority of the population within two years. "We've developed a strong track record on the ground and an excellent knowledge of the needs of the government, consumers and businesses," said Frank O'Carroll, Digicel's vice-president of business development for Asia-Pacific. "If we get an opportunity to invest in the telecoms sector in Myanmar, we're ready to deploy very, very quickly." Singapore's SingTel is reported to be interested but told Reuters it would not comment on rumours. On the ground, things have already started to improve. In response to complaints, prepaid SIMs were reduced from as high as $1,000 a year ago to $250 in some states and made available in Yangon in April That means people like Thandar Tun, who has three phones on a foldable table offering call services for 25 kyats (3 U.S. cents) a minute are seeing business slip away. A year ago, about 100 people a day used her phones. She has about 30 today as SIM prices fall and GSM, CDMA 800 and 450 MHz handsets have become status symbols. "We can see people are slowly changing the way they use phones," Thandar Tun said. SIM SHORTAGE Demand is now soaring and phone shops are fast popping up in Yangon. Inundated with requests, banks have halted loans for prepaid SIMs, which dealers say are now being rationed because MPT's network can't cope. "We get only 50 SIM cards a week, but people come in asking every day or calling to see when they'll be available," said Aye Myat Moe, sales manager at one branch of E-Lite Tech, a company owned by Tay Za, a Burmese billionaire blacklisted by Western governments because of his ties to the former military junta. But the devil is in the detail, and those companies lining up to invest are playing a careful game, awaiting regulatory clarity, aware of the catalogue of errors that have taken place in the past 18 months, even as the quasi-civilian government embarked on astonishing political and economic reforms. Its telecoms policy has been perplexing at best, with no clear plan on how to finance expansion of the network, even though a telecoms law 10 years in the making had already been drafted in cooperation with the International Telecoms Union. The ministry took the bizarre decision to start expansion even before completing the draft of the new law. In April last year, it announced it would create 30 million new GSM lines by 2016, in cooperation with local firms, some with ties to the former military regime, starting with four million lines to reach 10 percent of the population within a year. But there have been scant signs of progress, with 23 local companies installing towers and base stations, in return for SIM cards and licenses to sell handsets for use on a tiny network. A Myanmar telecoms industry expert, who requested anonymity, described the government's approach until now as a "disaster" and said it was crucial the new regulation benefited investors, consumers and the government. "FLAWED" LAW RECALLED Two other sources with close knowledge said the government realised its mistakes this July, when a revised law sent to President Thein Sein was quietly recalled because it was "deeply flawed". A senior government official said Thein Sein wants to implement reforms fast, aware of the proven links between telecoms expansion and GDP growth and the urgent need for transparency in a crucial sector. Expansion and liberalisation would not only create thousands of jobs in a country with chronic unemployment, but it would also allow for mobile money services, like transferring cash that could be collected by a relative in rural areas by showing a simple text message. "It's not just phones, it's other cross-cutting factors. It's also very important for financial and people-centred development," said the source, requesting anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media. "It's taken time because we want a healthy level of competition and we want to make sure we get this right." Clarity on regulation and the tender process is imminent, according to ministry officials, but many questions remain, particularly those regarding financing. Myanmar is understood to have been offered substantial foreign loans for telecoms development but has not said if it plans to fund any of the expansion -- estimated at $2 billion -- which allow the state to extract revenue from operators. Experts warn that if private firms finance network expansion, urban centres would have priority over rural areas -- the government's key target -- and operators would be reluctant to share infrastructure. The World Bank, which has given technical assistance to the telecoms ministry, urged the government to take a balanced approach and send the right message to foreign firms in what could be the first major sector to open up. "It's important for the government to ensure a stable policy and regulatory framework is established so it encourages credible, world class investors to enter the market and provide citizens with affordable and high quality services," its office in Myanmar told Reuters. "This is an important opportunity for Myanmar to demonstrate to the world that the country is open and ready for business." (Additional reporting by Jason Szep in Bangkok, Thu Rein Hlaing and Aung Hla Tun in Yangon; Editing by Ken Wills) Copyright © 2012 Reuters |
| Former U.S. Army officer pleads guilty to murder conspiracy charges Posted: 12 Sep 2012 07:25 PM PDT McALLEN, Texas (Reuters) - A former U.S. Army officer pleaded guilty on Wednesday to taking part in a murder-for-hire conspiracy set up by undercover agents who posed as members of Mexico's ruthless Zetas drug cartel. Kevin Corley, 29, also pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and weapons charges in U.S. federal court in Laredo, Texas, prosecutors said. Authorities arrested two others in the scheme and fatally shot a third man, his cousin Jerome Corley, when the months-long investigation reached a head in March. Corley was an Army first lieutenant from November 2008 to March 2012 who had served in Afghanistan, an Army spokeswoman said. He is from Colorado Springs, Colorado. The operation began after two men told undercover agents posing as Zetas members that Corley could obtain fully automatic weapons and sniper rifles, a federal criminal complaint states. Corley met with the undercover agents in September 2011, telling them he was an Army officer and trainer and could enlist an assassination team to raid a ranch and recover 20 kilograms of cocaine stolen by rivals, according to his plea agreement. He later told the agents he could perform contract killings, according to the plea agreement. Corley offered to carry out the assassination for $50,000 and five kilograms of cocaine and said he would give back the cash if he did not retrieve the cocaine and carry out the killing, according to the plea agreement. The agents said Corley sold them bullet resistant vests, Army manuals, two AR-15 assault rifles and other equipment. Also on Wednesday, Shavar Davis, 29, of Denver, pleaded guilty to federal drug and murder-for-hire conspiracy charges for his role in the plot. Corley and Davis face up to 10 years in prison each on the murder-for-hire conspiracy convictions and 10-year minimum sentences for the drug conspiracy convictions. (Editing by David Bailey; Editing by Will Dunham) Copyright © 2012 Reuters |
| Supporters throw stones in Venezuela pre-election clash Posted: 12 Sep 2012 07:14 PM PDT CARACAS (Reuters) - Rival supporters in Venezuela's presidential election fought and threw stones on Wednesday before a campaign stop by opposition leader Henrique Capriles less than a month before the October 7 vote. Both sides blamed each other for the worst flare-up since the campaign began in July. Several people were hurt as dozens clashed around an airport in Puerto Cabello - even chasing each other across the runway - where Capriles had been due to land. One pickup truck carrying opposition campaign materials was set on fire, and at least one other car was smashed up. There have already been a handful of clashes on the campaign trail as Capriles tries to unseat President Hugo Chavez and end 14 years of the socialist leader's self-styled revolution. "These acts are not spontaneous. There is someone responsible," Capriles, the 40-year-old governor of Miranda state, told a rally after the clashes, blaming the president personally. "It is him, and I say this directly: it is you who wants this scenario, you who wants to spread fear, you who wants Venezuelans to continue fighting each other." The election has so far generated much less violence than some locals had feared. But there is a huge number of guns in public hands, and with tempers becoming frayed as voting day nears there remains the risk of a more serious confrontation. State media said more than 20 people had been hurt, while an opposition TV network gave a lower number of wounded. Chavez's supporters blamed the opposition for the clash in Puerto Cabello, which closed the main road to the airport and forced Capriles to arrive in the area by a small boat instead. "We were surprised by a shower of rocks, fireworks and petrol bombs ... which caused a large number of casualties," Rafael Lacava, the local mayor and a Chavez ally, told state TV. "We were attacked by an advance group, which (Capriles) always sends on ahead when he holds these type of events." Puerto Cabello is 60 miles (100 kms) west of Caracas in central Carabobo state. Puerto Cabello's mayor is a "Chavista", but the governor of the state is an opposition supporter. The head of Chavez's campaign team told a weekly news conference in the capital that it had photographs of members of the Carabobo state police "lashing out" at Chavez supporters during the clashes. But he did not show the pictures to reporters. Chavez did not mention the disturbance during a two-hour televised speech to a campaign event in the evening with members of a social development project called "Mothers of the Slum". The 58-year-old leads the majority of Venezuela's best-known opinion polls, but they are notoriously controversial and divergent in the country of 29 million people, and one major pollster puts Capriles ahead. Among the myriad local polling companies, respected Datanalisis had Chavez ahead by 12 points in July, though Capriles' numbers have been creeping up and another well-known pollster, Consultores 21, has them neck-and-neck. Both sides discount unfavourable polls and say their candidate is ahead. The president remains hugely popular with many of Venezuela's poor majority, partly due to generous oil-funded welfare projects such as subsidized food stores, and because of his own humble roots and folksy charisma. He frequently accuses opposition leaders of planning to scrap his social "missions" if they win power. Capriles rejects that, saying he will launch new missions, keep the current ones and improve those which he says do not work. United Nations data support the government's line that poverty has been reduced under Chavez, but the opposition says he should have achieved much more given the huge oil revenue his administration has received since he took office in 1999. (Additional reporting by Mario Naranjo, Eyanir Chinea and Hugh Bronstein; editing by Philip Barbara) Copyright © 2012 Reuters |
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