SINGAPORE - Yoma Strategic Holdings said on Wednesday it would raise its stake in Digicel Asian Holdings, which provides telecommunications towers in Myanmar.

YSH Finance, which is 80 per cent-owned by Yoma and 20 per cent-owned by Yoma affiliate First Myanmar Investment, will now hold 25 per cent of Digicel Asian Holdings.

This is up from its previous 8 per cent stake, Yoma said.

The remaining 75 per cent of Digicel Asian Holdings will be held by Digicel Group, a telco that operates in 31 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific.

Yoma said mobile subscriptions in Myanmar's relatively untapped mobile market are expected to "increase strongly" in the next few years, from 1.3 million this year to 30 million next year.

This growth is expected to drive 20 per cent of all foreign direct investment into the Myanmar telco industry, which is forecast to draw US$1 billion (S$1.26 billion) in such investment this year.