Taiwan’s smartphone maker HTC has established a foothold in Myanmar by opening its first store in Yangon.

“Myanmar is opening up and opportunities are everywhere,” said HTC CEO Peter Chou, who inaugurated the new store.

Myanmar is one of the untapped telco markets in Asia. Research found that only five per cent of the entire population use mobile phones, mostly low-cost handsets.

However, the government plans to increase the penetration of mobile companies by 50 per cent by 2015, which will spark a huge demand for handsets.

HTC phones in Myanmar will feature Burmese language, hoping to attract local customers.

“My aspiration is to design innovative smartphones that offer full compatibility with the Myanmar language, so that people in Myanmar can enjoy enhanced communications simply and easily,” said Chou.

GB