Vietnam’s military-run mobile network operator Viettel has been awarded a license to operate in Myanmar via a joint venture with two local telecom firms, less than six months after it was selected as the preferred foreign partner in the three-party consortium.

Viettel Global, the outbound investment arm of the Vietnamese company, holds a 49 percent stake in the joint venture, named Myanmar National Tele & Communications, while local stakeholders Star High Public Company Limited and Myanmar National Telecom Holding P/L own 28 percent and 23 percent, respectively.

The license is valid for 15 years, according to the Ministry for Transport and Communications.

Viettel inked the deal to form the US$2 billion consortium with the two local partners in September last year, making Vietnam Myanmar’s seventh-largest foreign investor.

Myanmar National Tele & Communications becomes the fourth and final licensed telecom company in Myanmar, now competing against existing operators Telenor Myanmar, Ooredoo Myanmar and a joint venture between Myanmar Post, Myanmar Telecom and Japan's KDDI, according to Reuters.

In April, Viettel said it would invest $1.5 billion in Myanmar's telecommunications industry.

The company is now present in countries across Asia, Africa and the Americas.

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