China Mobile and Vodafone team up for Myanmar license

China Mobile <0941.HK> and Vodafone , the world's largest and second largest mobile operators, have joined forces to apply for a license to roll out a network in Myanmar.

Vodafone said the two groups had agreed to form a consortium to bid for a license in the former Burma, where the government is seeking to increase the number of mobile operators from two to four.

"With a comparatively young and highly literate population of around 60 million, a GDP growth rate of 5.5 percent per annum and mobile phone penetration currently below 10 percent - significantly lower than in many other emerging economies - Myanmar will be an important new market for the global mobile industry," Vodafone said.

(Reporting by Kate Holton)