ICT
From The Report: Myanmar 2020
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The ICT sector is perhaps Myanmar’s most advanced area of the steadily growing economy. Nevertheless, the era of easy growth and customer acquisition for telecommunications players has come to an end, and a new phase of intense competition has ensued. Myanmar has wide-ranging plans to grow its digital economy and is actively engaging in efforts to improve the foundations of its digital ecosystem and convert its smartphone-wielding population into online consumers. However, it will require significant development of a policy framework, as well as investment in digital literacy and ICT skills, to realise the country’s potential. As the ICT sector matures, there is room for companies to grab market share in the country’s nascent but fast-growing digital economy. This chapter contains interviews with U Thant Sin Maung, Minister of Transport and Communications; and Alok Kumar, Group CEO, Oway.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Connection roadmap: New digital strategy for government, trade and investment to improve sector development and network readiness
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The ICT sector is perhaps Myanmar’s most advanced area of the steadily growing economy. Nevertheless, the era of easy growth and customer acquisition for telecommunications players has come to an end, and a new phase of intense competition has ensued. As the ICT sector matures, there is room for companies to grab market share in the country’s nascent but fast-growing digital economy. Oversight & Structure Myanmar’s ICT policy is directed by the Ministry of Transport and Communications…

Interview

Crucial transition: U Thant Sin Maung, Minister for Transport and Communications, on implementing nationwide digitisation
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Interview:U Thant Sin Maung What progress has been made regarding the implementation of the e-government programme? U THANT SIN MAUNG: In Myanmar every sector still needs to be developed, so the implementation of government-wide digitisation is a sizeable task. We have been rolling out our e-governance master plan since 2016, and we have already seen tangible results. In the most recent UN E-Government Development Index released in 2018, Myanmar climbed 12 places to 157th. Widened connectivity…

Analysis

Future rollout: Preparations continue apace ahead of 5G deployment
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Myanmar has enjoyed one of the most rapid and successful deployments of telecommunications infrastructure around the world, in part due to a regulatory framework that allows multiple operators to share the use of cell towers. This has ensured building and maintaining infrastructure is cost effective for the companies involved, as they can on-board additional tower tenants at close to zero cost. Lay of the Land Investment in telecoms infrastructure continues apace. In mid-2018 there were…

Analysis

Start it up: Laying the groundwork for start-ups to flourish during ideation
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Myanmar’s start-up ecosystem is coming into its own amid the development of several clusters in Yangon and an easing of business conditions in the country as a whole. Myanmar rose by six places in the World Bank’s “Doing Business 2020” report to 165th out of 190 economies after introducing a mandatory online platform for company registration and reducing incorporation fees, among other measures. Loring Harkness, CEO of Mote Poh, a Yangon-based start-up that enables companies to offer…

Interview

Seamless integration: Alok Kumar, Group CEO, Oway, on the effects of digitalisation and the importance of diversifying across online platforms
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Interview:Alok Kumar To what degree has digitisation affected Myanmar? ALOK KUMAR: When it comes to business operations, there is strong appreciation for the need of digitalisation. However, onboarding is slow and back-end processes remain largely manual. We have not yet reached the critical mass necessary for transformation, and unless the whole ecosystem has this momentum it will be difficult to transform quickly. Furthermore, the economy is slower than it has been in previous years, so…