China Mobile, China's largest telecom carrier by number of users, is teaming up with its UK peer Vodafone Group Plc to bid for a mobile telecommunications license in Myanmar, a move analysts said Sunday could further the company's overseas expansion and cope with a domestic sluggish telecom market.

The two wireless companies have formed a consortium and submitted their pre-qualification application to the Myanmar authorities on the submission deadline Thursday, according to a statement posted by Hong Kong-listed China Mobile Ltd on the same day.

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) in Myanmar said on February 21 that the government wants to rapidly open and develop the sector by awarding two new 15-year-term licenses. The license holders will be able to build, own and run mobile networks there. MCIT's aim is to increase the "overall tele-density to 75 to 80 percent by 2015-16."

Overseas expansion into neighboring countries is an important strategy for China Mobile, as the domestic telecom market tends to be saturated and population growth is slowing, Ma Jihua, a telecom analyst with Beijing Daojing Consultant Co, told the Global Times Sunday.

The Hong Kong-listed company recorded a 2.7 percent year-on-year increase in net profits for 2012, which is less than half its yearly growth rate of 6.3 percent in 2011.

The joint application is "still at a preliminary stage and may or may not be ultimately successful," said the statement, noting that the government will select qualified applicants by June.

China Mobile has good odds of winning the bid in its team effort with Vodafone, which is one of the world's largest players in the sector by revenue and does well at developing operations in other countries, Fu Liang, a Beijing-based independent telecom analyst, told the Global Times Sunday.

Vodafone was serving approximately 403 million customers from more than 30 countries across five continents and over 50 global partner networks by 2012, according to data on the company's website.

Besides, the Chinese side is experienced in carrying signals across less-developed rural areas, which is needed in Myanmar's start-up telecom sector, said Fu.

Ma also regarded political factors as a major determiner, saying that since bilateral relations between China and Myanmar are going well, it's likely the Chinese bidder will get the license.

However, China Mobile shouldn't count its chickens yet because of other strong competitors from around the world, said Ma.

The MCIT released on Friday a list of 22 pre-qualified applicants who are able to participate in the licensee selection process, including Singapore Telecommunications and Digicel Group.

It's not the first time domestic carriers have entered the overseas market, noted Fu, but it is the first time they are competing with other players in bidding for mobile licenses in other countries. He noted that the carriers are used to realizing overseas expansion by acquiring local peers.

China Mobile, for instance, expanded into Pakistan via the takeover of Paktel, renamed China Mobile Pakistan (CMPak) in 2007.