Globe eyes expansion in Myanmar

MANILA, Philippines - Globe Telecom Inc., jointly owned by conglomerate Ayala Corp. and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., is looking at expanding its operations within Southeast Asia particularly in Myanmar.

Ernest Cu, president and chief executive officer of Globe, said the company is exploring the possibility of expanding its operations within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to complement the relatively strong economic growth within the region.

“We will look for white space within Asean and Asia on where to leverage the skills we’ve developed overtime and we do think we’ve developed a decent telco business here in the Philippines. We have a great team and we’re thinking of ways to leverage that further in emerging economies,” Cu said.

Cu announced the plan during the recently concluded Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in Beijing, China.

In particular, he pointed out that Globe is looking at Myanmar as a potential expansion area.

“There’s already a telco player in Myanmar but there are other areas we could get involved in, like financial services and mobile advertising and these areas have potential,” he added.

He pointed out that Globe has taken the direction of providing products and services most relevant to customers amid fast-paced evolution of digital technologies.

“We’ve always taken the position that if consumer habits are changing, then we have to change along with it and deliver what’s relevant to them. The real prize would be getting all of these individuals to access the Internet through their mobile phones and alternatives offered by different mobile apps become more commonplace and become the main mode of communication,” Cu said.

According to him, Globe is considering the possibility of offering its mobile-based banking service to other Southeast Asian markets once the Asean integration is in place next year.

Globe operates GCash, the mobile money service of its subsidiary G-Xchange Inc. It also operates BanKO, a mobile-based, microfinance-focused savings bank, along with Bank of the Philippine Islands and Ayala Corp.

By 2015, the Asean Economic Community sets in motion the creation of single market and production base for the 10-nation bloc fostering free flow of goods, services, skilled labor, investments and capital.

Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Cu’s vision of expanding Globe’s operations in the Asean region mirrors goals expressed by other CEOs surveyed by PwC International Survey Unit.