REPÚBLICA DEMOCRÁTICA DE TIMOR LESTE

MINISTÉRIO DAS INFRA-ESTRUTURAS

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11 July 2012

Timor-Leste telecommunications licence to be issued to Viettel

Dili, 11 July 2012: The Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste today announces that Viettel Global Investment JSC (Viettel) from Vietnam will receive a telecommunications licence instead of Digicel Pacific Limited (Digicel).

The Government initially announced on 28 June 2012 that the first two new telecommunications licences in the liberalisation process would be issued to Digicel and PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin). Digicel has now withdrawn its application. The tender process rules in the Request for Applications (RFA) of 12 April 2012 provide for the issuance of the licence in such circumstances to the applicant which received the next highest score in the selection process. In an extremely close-run selection, Viettel had scored ½ point less than Digicel out of 100 points and so Viettel is now declared the successful applicant in accordance with the tender process rules.

With US$ 6 billion revenue in 2011, Viettel is a major international telecommunications service provider with operations in Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos), Africa (Mozambique) and South America and Caribbean (Haiti and soon Peru). It has more than 61 million subscribers worldwide with networks covering approximately 170 million people and provides services at competitive prices. Viettel has committed to provide GSM mobile telephone and high speed 3G Internet access initially reaching 93% of the Timor-Leste population and 95% within 3 years.

The licensing of Viettel and Telin, both large telecommunications operators with strong balance sheets and significant international experience in low income markets, will ensure the introduction of robust competition in Timor-Leste. The country is poised to benefit from a reinvigorated telecommunication sector offering the population and businesses lower pricing, better service quality, increased coverage and an expanded range of services.

More information about the liberalisation of Timor-Leste’s telecommunications sector, including the RFA which contains the tender rules, can be found at www.telecomsliberalisation.tl.