Chinese mobile company successfully penetrating Myanmar market

A customer tries a Huawei smartphone at a store of Huawei in Beijing, China, on June 8, 2016.[Photo/IC]

YANGON - China's Huawei is successfully penetrating Myanmar's mobile market, as it recently made partnership with KMD, Myanmar's foremost IT distribution company, as a new distributor for its products and solutions business.

The partnership will affirm Huawei's strategic commitment to Myanmar as a key market, according to the Chinese company.

Myanmar, with a rapidly growing information and communication technology (ICT) sector in recent years, is one of the most emerging markets for Huawei in Southeast Asia.

The country has a mobile phone penetration rate of nearly 90 percent.

Huawei enjoys the highest brand power in Myanmar for its ability to boost sales or gain market share, according to brand research "Spotlight on Myanmar," surveyed by Britain-based WPP and US-based Millward Brown companies.

The research is based on 1,660 consumer interviews and covers 42 international and regional brands in accordance with either their global profile or their local activity.

According to the research, Huawei's brand power is indexing 436, higher than its global average score of 81. Its performance in Myanmar is better than in its home market China.

In February this year, Myanmar's first Huawei Authorized Information, Network Academy (HAINA) was inaugurated in Yangon's Thanlyin University of Science and Technology.

HAINA, mainly guided by Huawei, was to train out human resources with ICT of Huawei globally.

In November 2014, Science and Technology Departments of Myanmar and Huawei signed a memorandum of understanding on assisting Myanmar in development of ICT human resources including establishment of HAINA.

In wake of Myanmar's rapid development of ICT sector with shortage of human resources, Huawei advocated measures to resolve the issue through National ICT Human Resources Development Plan, covering middle and high schools in remote mountainous areas.

Huawei has set up 140 HAINAs in over 20 countries globally benefiting more than 5,000 people in 2015.

The HAINA in Yangon's Thanlyin University is the 147th opened by Huawei in the world.