PLDT eyes expansion in Malaysia

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is on its way to further expanding its international presence with plans to enter the Malaysian market to service the telecommunications needs of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) there.

PLDT president Napoleon Nazareno revealed that they are in advanced stages of talks with a listed telecom company in Malaysia for a possible mobile virtual network operation (MVNO) agreement beginning the fourth quarter of this year.

“We have an ongoing discussion with a Malaysian operator that will hopefully be finalized towards the end of the third quarter this year,” he said.

The MVNO agreement will have a slightly different setup than earlier arrangements entered into by PLDT with its MVNO partners in Hong Kong, Singapore, Guam and Saipan.

Recently, PLDT forged a partnerhip with Docomo Pacific, formerly Guamcell Communications, to provide telecommunications services in Guam and Saipan specifically targeted for OFWs.

Last month, PLDT Global CEO Alex Caeg said negotiations are currently being conducted with mobile operators in Taiwan, Macau, Guam, Malaysia, the US and Saudi Arabia, but refused to disclose which deals will be closed within the year.

PLDT has MVNO arrangements in Hongkong and Singapore, with a combined subscriber base of 100,000 overseas Filipinos.

PLDT Global, a whollyowned subsidiary of PLDT, is the international sales and marketing arm of the PLDT Group. It aims to “own” the 8.6 million global Filipinos as its subscribers, by tailor-fitting PLDT products and services to cater to their needs.

The top 15 countries in terms of Filipino population are the US, Saudi Arabia, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Qatar, Malaysia, Japan, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuwait, Taiwan and South Korea which account for 83 percent of total.

Studies have shown that Filipinos abroad on the average spend about $58, $160, and $190 per month for telecommunications services in Asia, Europe, and the US respectively, while on the average, they remit about 50 percent of their income to the Philippines .

The largest Philippine telco entered into its first MVNO in Hong Kong in 2009 and Smart Pinoy is now the biggest mobile service provider to Filipinos there. 1528 Smart Pinoy, PLDT Global’s MVNO operator in Hongkong, is being offered using the network of Hongkong’s CSL and offers the most affordable voice call and text messaging rates to the Philippines . 1528 Smart Pinoy now serves over 75,000 customers in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong was followed by another MVNO in Singapore (where over 163,000 Filipinos reside) in 2006 in partnership with Mobile One and then by Italy , but “market conditions” forced PLDT to pull out of Italy .

Caeg said PLDT Global’s strategy is to expand by entering into new MVNOs or branded partnerships in countries where the Filipino population is high. When going into MVNOs, PLDT invests about $2 to $3 million initially, while the profit is split between PLDT and the foreign operator.

“We also aim to increase our subscriber base by tapping new markets within current MVNO areas. For instance, we can tap the Indonesian market in Hong Kong. PLDT Global will also continue its product diversification and this will include broadband TV, new mobile remittance services, reselling other products, among others,” PLDT Hong Kong general manager John Palanca, for his part, revealed.

Some of the ethnic markets being eyed by PLDT Global are the Indonesians, Thais, Indians, to name a few. In Hong Kong alone, the Indonesians now number 185,000, compared to the 165,000 Filipino population.