Vodafone on Monday said that it is looking for expansion of its international presence through mobile operator relationships in Asia and South America in 2012. The objective of the plans is  to meet the growing demand among multinational businesses for sophisticated voice and data communications solutions as well as advanced roaming services.

Vodafone also announced that its partner market relationship with SFR in France is fully operational and unveiled a new strategic partnership with Pacific Mobile Telecom of French Polynesia, extending the Vodafone brand to one of the most remote territories in the Asia-Pacific region.

Vodafone Partner Markets CEO Ravinder Takkar said: "Over the past ten years, Vodafone has entered into partnerships with mobile operators in more than 40 markets. These strategic relationships are good for partners and good for customers. They offer the best of Vodafone''s scale and global expertise combined with our partners' market knowledge and experience. Our Partner Markets division has grown rapidly in recent years, and we look forward to further expansion into emerging markets."

Vodafone and SFR entered into a Partner Market agreement in June 2011 after the sale of Vodafone's 44% stake in SFR to Vivendi. The two companies will also jointly source and deploy a full range of products and services targeted at enterprise markets.

"This is the extension of the long-standing partnership with Vodafone. Together, we will manage the global requirements of French multinational companies at a time when effective communications are becoming ever more important in determining business success", said SFR Business Team CEO Pierre Barnabé.

Tahiti-based Pacific Mobile Telecom is a new start-up operator which will now adopt the Vodafone global brand as it establishes a new 3G network in French Polynesia - a market which until now has had only one incumbent telecommunications company.

"With dedicated support from Vodafone, we plan an aggressive network rollout and intend to be fully operational within one year. As the in-country challenger, we believe that rapid growth can be achieved with a high-quality network, attractive retail offers and excellent products and services, all underpinned by the Vodafone brand", said Pacific Mobile Telecom President Albert Moux.