Myanmar's fourth mobile operator has yet to apply for its licence, with negotiations between the various joint venture partners taking longer than envisaged, it emerged this week.

Vietnam's Viettel was selected to partner with local entities to create the new operator earlier this year. The parties then opened talks with a view to forming a joint venture, which was due to apply for its licence in June.

However, according to the Myanmar Times, negotiations are still ongoing, the venture is not yet formally established and as such has not been able to apply for an operating licence. In addition to Viettel, the JV will comprise a government shareholder, known as Star High Public Company, and a local consortium, Myanmar National Telecom Holding.

An unnamed source said said the parties have reached agreement on many points, but there are still a few significant issues to be sorted out, including decision-making powers and the role of the future CEO.

The government intends the venture to be Myanmar-led, with local players making up the majority of the board, but it is likely that Viettel will propose a CEO, the paper explained. Its source added that it remains unclear how decisions will be split between the board and the executive staff.

Financing also remains a challenge, the source said. While the various parties have the funding required to launch a new mobile operator, there is still a question mark over how much they would feel comfortable ploughing into the venture.

The paper secured an upbeat comment from the chairman of the joint venture formation and tender selection work committee though.

"The negotiations are going very fast, actually," U Zaw Oo said. "We are going into very detailed negotiations. The stakeholders think it is important to get everything on the table and try to get agreement rather than wait and see."

He added that once the JV is formed it will apply for its licence, but did not provide a predicted timetable.

Totaltele.com