Alcatel looks at Burma, sees growth in region

Telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent is cautiously looking at business opportunities in Myanmar and other countries in South-East Asia and the region will play a bigger role in its future growth, according to its Asia-Pacific business chief.

The Franco-American company saw strong growth potential in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, where mobile phone penetration rates remained low, Rajeev Singh-Molares, its president for Asia-Pacific region, said in an interview yesterday.

Myanmar is opening up to the outside world after decades of isolation under a military junta. Over the past year, a new government has pushed through political and economic reforms and a new foreign investment law should be passed soon.

” Alcatel-Lucent is observing and watching the developments in Myanmar with a lot of interest,” he said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on East Asia in Bangkok.

“In a country where you have mobile phone penetration at 1 percent, there is a tremendous opportunity to do more. And to do more is not just for the industry, but for the development of the country.”

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/6/1/business/11396346&sec=business

 

Category: Regional