Google's Schmidt to visit Myanmar, an untapped telecoms market

YANGON (REUTERS) - Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt plans to go to Myanmar next week, the first high-profile tech company executive to visit after reforms that prompted Western nations to ease sanctions following decades of military dictatorship.

Since Myanmar's military stepped aside and a quasi-civilian government was installed in 2011, setting off a wave of political and economic reforms, the country has enjoyed a surge of interest from overseas businesses.

The former Burma is the last virgin territory for businesses in Asia, with untapped markets including the telecoms sector: mobile penetration in the country of 60 million is estimated to be a meagre 5 to 10 per cent.

The country's planned modernisation of telecoms infrastructure and expected boom in mobile phone usage will pave the way for the entry of companies such as Google, which could profit greatly through sales of cheap smartphones built around its Android platform.