Showing posts with label U Mobile. Show all posts
电讯业合并?
2012年03月26日 封面故事 - 财经周刊 - 南洋网
大马的通讯领域早已形成三强鼎立的格局，而各强之间又有本身的优势，因此，估计不会出现合并的风潮。 然而，我国通讯领域的确出现了合并的迹象与契机，而这个契机又完全是由9张4G执照而引发……
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大马的通讯领域早已形成三强鼎立的格局，而各强之间又有本身的优势，因此，估计不会出现合并的风潮。 然而，我国通讯领域的确出现了合并的迹象与契机，而这个契机又完全是由9张4G执照而引发……
小型电企联盟抗巨无霸
国内通讯公司的并购风，应当也不是头一遭，近期又再传出并购的消息，我国目前三强鼎立的通讯市场架构，是否会有变化？
行业内的无数小型业者的命运，又何去何从？
国内的电讯业在2月底传出并购消息，引起业者以致消费者的高度关注，主要是因今时今日，手机、通讯服务以及上网，几乎成了我国人民的日常必需品。若是通讯公司真的吹起合并风潮，不仅对于我国通讯业的架构有重大的影响，该行业的竞争生态，也会随之影响到消费人。
Mobile service operators start talks on merger and acquisitions
Wednesday February 22, 2012 By YVONNE TAN
PETALING JAYA: Consolidation talks
have begun in the telecommunication space where as many as nine parties
have licences to offer mobile services. “There are clearly too
many operators for a market like Malaysia and it would naturally result
in some form of consolidation,” said a telco analyst.
Industry sources said that one of the more active players pursuing a merger and acquisition exercise was the YTL Group which has approached Asiaspace Sdn Bhd and Green Packet Bhd . Asiaspace chairman Datuk Abdul Ghani Abdullah said that consolidation was the most “logical” thing to do.
Same wavelength:
From left: Puan, YTL Communications executive chairman Tan Sri Francis
Yeoh, Tan and Abdul Ghani.
Last
year, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission named nine
companies as recipients of the 2.6 GHz spectrum, to be used for the
roll-out of long-term evolution (LTE) or 4G services. These are the four 3G players namely DiGi.Com Bhd , Celcom Axiata Bhd , Maxis Bhd and U Mobile Sdn Bhd ; and four WiMAX players Asiaspace, Packet One Networks Sdn Bhd or P1 (a subsidiary of Green Packet), REDtone International Bhd and YTL Communications Bhd .
The ninth player named was Puncak Semangat, a company controlled by billionaire Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary
.
Abdul Ghani said consolidation would enable players to combine their spectrum to offer more efficient services to customers, and hence, help solve the issue of spectrum being spread too thin among too many players.“However, the (consolidation) talks are still at an early stage,” said one industry source.
Aside from the three incumbents in the telco voice market, namely DiGi, Celcom and Maxis, the other players that have made the most inroads in the 4G industry are YTL Communications, P1 and U Mobile which is controlled by tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan .
YTL Communications launched its YES 4G wireless network in November 2010 and as at November last year, the company was said to have a subscriber base of more than 300,000. It was reported that the company would break even when it had one million subscribers.
Green Packet has also been keeping busy with its investments in the area of broadband. For the third quarter ended September 2011, Green Packet reported net loss of RM24.3mil compared with net loss of RM13.7mil a year earlier, largely due to such investments. “But it will be an historic year for P1 this year, as in less than four years it will turn EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) positive. You must realise that we are in an industry where the gestation periods are long,” said group managing director C.C. Puan recently.
As for U Mobile's financial position, this cannot be immediately ascertained as it is privately owned.
Meanwhile, amid reports that U Mobile was seeking to be listed, a source said that Green Packet had been approached by investment banks to consider an initial public offering of P1. “If Green Packet turns EBITDA positive this year, PI should be in a good position for a listing,” said the source.
Industry sources said that one of the more active players pursuing a merger and acquisition exercise was the YTL Group which has approached Asiaspace Sdn Bhd and Green Packet Bhd . Asiaspace chairman Datuk Abdul Ghani Abdullah said that consolidation was the most “logical” thing to do.
A telco analyst points out that there are too
many operators in a market like Malaysia and it would naturally result
in some form of consolidation.“Capital expenditure is so high in this industry that it is impossible for smaller companies to survive,” he told StarBiz when contacted yesterday.YTL had not answered StarBiz queries at press time while Green Packet officials declined to comment.
The ninth player named was Puncak Semangat, a company controlled by billionaire Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary
.
Abdul Ghani said consolidation would enable players to combine their spectrum to offer more efficient services to customers, and hence, help solve the issue of spectrum being spread too thin among too many players.“However, the (consolidation) talks are still at an early stage,” said one industry source.
Aside from the three incumbents in the telco voice market, namely DiGi, Celcom and Maxis, the other players that have made the most inroads in the 4G industry are YTL Communications, P1 and U Mobile which is controlled by tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan .
YTL Communications launched its YES 4G wireless network in November 2010 and as at November last year, the company was said to have a subscriber base of more than 300,000. It was reported that the company would break even when it had one million subscribers.
Green Packet has also been keeping busy with its investments in the area of broadband. For the third quarter ended September 2011, Green Packet reported net loss of RM24.3mil compared with net loss of RM13.7mil a year earlier, largely due to such investments. “But it will be an historic year for P1 this year, as in less than four years it will turn EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) positive. You must realise that we are in an industry where the gestation periods are long,” said group managing director C.C. Puan recently.
As for U Mobile's financial position, this cannot be immediately ascertained as it is privately owned.
Meanwhile, amid reports that U Mobile was seeking to be listed, a source said that Green Packet had been approached by investment banks to consider an initial public offering of P1. “If Green Packet turns EBITDA positive this year, PI should be in a good position for a listing,” said the source.
Puncak Semangat, REDtone big 4G spectrum winners
Written by Cindy Yeap
Wednesday, 07 December 2011
REDtone International Bhd and billionaire Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary’s Puncak Semangat Sdn Bhd have a tad more to cheer about among the nine fourth generation (4G) spectrum winners. All nine will receive the coveted resource after their business plans are approved by the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), sources said.
“While Puncak Semangat’s 30Mhz [of 4G spectrum] is at least 10Mhz bigger than all other winners, everyone else has existing spectrum — 900Mhz, 1800Mhz, 1900Mhz [3G] or 2.3Ghz [WiMAX]. From that perspective, the bigger existing players still have more spectrum,” said a source close to the regulators.
“The decision was made to bring in new entrants and allow room for market forces, and in that light the spectrum allocations are equitable, though not entirely equal,” the source told The Edge Financial Daily. “We believe Puncak has the financial resources for a decent rollout,” the source said.
The 4G allocation will give REDtone, whose existing 2.3Ghz WiMAX licence is limited to Sabah and Sarawak, a licence to roll out mobile services in Peninsular Malaysia and a more level playing field relative to the remaining three WiMAX spectrum holders, the source said. Its challenge, however, will be to secure the necessary funds for a wider rollout, an observer said.
To recap, all four 3G spectrum assignment holders — Maxis Bhd, Celcom Axiata Bhd, DiGi.Com Bhd and U Mobile Sdn Bhd — stand to receive 20Mhz of 4G spectrum. Like REDtone, two other WiMAX spectrum holders — Green Packet Bhd’s Packet One (Networks) Sdn Bhd and YTL Communications Sdn Bhd — will also receive 20Mhz of 4G spectrum in January 2013, if their business plans are accepted by the MCMC.
The remaining WiMAX spectrum holder, Asiaspace Sdn Bhd, will be given a 10Mhz block of 4G spectrum, provided its business plan gets MCMC’s go-ahead. Asiaspace, will also need to settle a sizeable fine first for not meeting rollout commitments made in its WiMAX business plan submission, another source added.
All nine winners will need to submit their 4G rollout plans to the MCMC by Dec 15 and pay a RM5 million irrevocable guarantee for every 10Mhz of spectrum.
But why not just give bigger blocks of spectrum to the big boys? After all, only three out of seven newcomers in the mobile telecoms space have decent-sized coverage and service offerings close to five years since the powers that be decided to sidestep incumbents and allow new entrants. Didn’t one 3G pectrum winner even make money from transferring its 3G spectrum?
Moreover, easily 94% of Malaysia’s 35.7 million mobile phone users are with the big three — Maxis, Celcom and DiGi — and they have the most money to invest, going by their earnings pool. Wouldn’t giving them more spectrum help on network quality?
“Yes, incumbents have a lot more subscribers, but they still have a lot more spectrum than the new entrants. Their spectrum allocation is already bigger than the likes of Vodafone in the UK, which has a bigger population size and wider geographical area to cover,” an industry observer pointed out. This could not be independently verified at press time.
“Are you satisfied with your current mobile phone service?” the observer asked, drawing attention to the sizeable earnings margins of 45% to over 50% that the big boy operators here command.
“Those margins are very high by industry standards. I’d call 30% a decent margin. From where I stand, that level of margins either means operators are not investing enough money in network or they’re charging customers too much,” the observer added.
Maxis, the leader in terms of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) margin, has maintained that its 50% plus margins are ahead of Celcom’s 45% and DiGi’s 46% because it has a bigger pool of higher spending subscribers.
To be fair, Maxis, Celcom and DiGi have spent an average of RM1 billion a year on improving their networks. And if that level of investment is not enough, only time will tell if the solution is to bring in new players, especially those with smaller purses.
What is certain is that more competition is on the way for existing players and the cost of delivering seamless Internet on-the-go is much higher than enabling voice and plain text message.
To maintain the kind of margins and dividends that their investors have come to expect, telecoms players are already cutting back everything they can and are now letting rivals piggy-back on their networks.
They have even resorted to no longer absorbing the 6% service tax on prepaid users to help shore up margins — or at least they tried. It is understood hat regulators have asked the operators to pass on the cost of the service tax to prepaid users on a staggered basis, instead of doing it at one go.
All that throws into question whether the high margins the big boy operators are enjoying will hold. To be sure, chances are that margins will not immediately collapse, but investors may need to start considering the possibility of smaller growth numbers and, in turn, lower dividend payouts — at least until the mobile broadband space matures.
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, December 7, 2011.
Related Posts:
1.數碼網絡 (Digi) 正與立通國際（REDTONE)探討合作
2. All nine telecoms players given smaller blocks of 4G spectrum (2.6GHz)
3. Transforming cellular companies
REDtone International Bhd and billionaire Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary’s Puncak Semangat Sdn Bhd have a tad more to cheer about among the nine fourth generation (4G) spectrum winners. All nine will receive the coveted resource after their business plans are approved by the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), sources said.
“While Puncak Semangat’s 30Mhz [of 4G spectrum] is at least 10Mhz bigger than all other winners, everyone else has existing spectrum — 900Mhz, 1800Mhz, 1900Mhz [3G] or 2.3Ghz [WiMAX]. From that perspective, the bigger existing players still have more spectrum,” said a source close to the regulators.
“The decision was made to bring in new entrants and allow room for market forces, and in that light the spectrum allocations are equitable, though not entirely equal,” the source told The Edge Financial Daily. “We believe Puncak has the financial resources for a decent rollout,” the source said.
The 4G allocation will give REDtone, whose existing 2.3Ghz WiMAX licence is limited to Sabah and Sarawak, a licence to roll out mobile services in Peninsular Malaysia and a more level playing field relative to the remaining three WiMAX spectrum holders, the source said. Its challenge, however, will be to secure the necessary funds for a wider rollout, an observer said.
To recap, all four 3G spectrum assignment holders — Maxis Bhd, Celcom Axiata Bhd, DiGi.Com Bhd and U Mobile Sdn Bhd — stand to receive 20Mhz of 4G spectrum. Like REDtone, two other WiMAX spectrum holders — Green Packet Bhd’s Packet One (Networks) Sdn Bhd and YTL Communications Sdn Bhd — will also receive 20Mhz of 4G spectrum in January 2013, if their business plans are accepted by the MCMC.
The remaining WiMAX spectrum holder, Asiaspace Sdn Bhd, will be given a 10Mhz block of 4G spectrum, provided its business plan gets MCMC’s go-ahead. Asiaspace, will also need to settle a sizeable fine first for not meeting rollout commitments made in its WiMAX business plan submission, another source added.
All nine winners will need to submit their 4G rollout plans to the MCMC by Dec 15 and pay a RM5 million irrevocable guarantee for every 10Mhz of spectrum.
But why not just give bigger blocks of spectrum to the big boys? After all, only three out of seven newcomers in the mobile telecoms space have decent-sized coverage and service offerings close to five years since the powers that be decided to sidestep incumbents and allow new entrants. Didn’t one 3G pectrum winner even make money from transferring its 3G spectrum?
Moreover, easily 94% of Malaysia’s 35.7 million mobile phone users are with the big three — Maxis, Celcom and DiGi — and they have the most money to invest, going by their earnings pool. Wouldn’t giving them more spectrum help on network quality?
“Yes, incumbents have a lot more subscribers, but they still have a lot more spectrum than the new entrants. Their spectrum allocation is already bigger than the likes of Vodafone in the UK, which has a bigger population size and wider geographical area to cover,” an industry observer pointed out. This could not be independently verified at press time.
“Are you satisfied with your current mobile phone service?” the observer asked, drawing attention to the sizeable earnings margins of 45% to over 50% that the big boy operators here command.
“Those margins are very high by industry standards. I’d call 30% a decent margin. From where I stand, that level of margins either means operators are not investing enough money in network or they’re charging customers too much,” the observer added.
Maxis, the leader in terms of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) margin, has maintained that its 50% plus margins are ahead of Celcom’s 45% and DiGi’s 46% because it has a bigger pool of higher spending subscribers.
To be fair, Maxis, Celcom and DiGi have spent an average of RM1 billion a year on improving their networks. And if that level of investment is not enough, only time will tell if the solution is to bring in new players, especially those with smaller purses.
What is certain is that more competition is on the way for existing players and the cost of delivering seamless Internet on-the-go is much higher than enabling voice and plain text message.
To maintain the kind of margins and dividends that their investors have come to expect, telecoms players are already cutting back everything they can and are now letting rivals piggy-back on their networks.
They have even resorted to no longer absorbing the 6% service tax on prepaid users to help shore up margins — or at least they tried. It is understood hat regulators have asked the operators to pass on the cost of the service tax to prepaid users on a staggered basis, instead of doing it at one go.
All that throws into question whether the high margins the big boy operators are enjoying will hold. To be sure, chances are that margins will not immediately collapse, but investors may need to start considering the possibility of smaller growth numbers and, in turn, lower dividend payouts — at least until the mobile broadband space matures.
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, December 7, 2011.
Related Posts:
1.數碼網絡 (Digi) 正與立通國際（REDTONE)探討合作
2. All nine telecoms players given smaller blocks of 4G spectrum (2.6GHz)
3. Transforming cellular companies
設施容量不足‧電訊公司掀結盟風 (Digi and REDtone International is exploring possibilities for cooperation
（吉隆坡3日訊）基於個別電訊公司所獲分配頻譜容量不足，大小電訊公司未來將在推出4G／LTE設施時採取大小結盟方式，各大小電訊公司結盟形勢基本已形成，以克服設施容量不足或花費龐大問題。
數碼網絡和立通國際探討合作
《星洲財經》探悉，數碼網絡（DIGI，6947，主板基建計劃組）正與相對小的營運商立通國際（REDTONE，0032，創業板貿服組）探討合作，數碼網絡甚至表示不惜高價購買使用權，或者一兩個月內會有定案。
大馬通訊與多媒體委員會（MCMC）最近頒發180兆赫予9家營運商，其中與丹斯里賽莫達相關的公司PUNCAK SEMANGAT獲最大頻譜30兆赫，亞通的天地通、數碼網絡（DIGI，6947，主板基建計劃組）、明訊（MAXIS，6012，主板貿服組）、成功集團（BJCORP，3395，主板貿服組）旗下的U Mobile、綠馳通訊科技（GPACKET，0082，主板科技組）旗下P1公司、立通國際與楊忠禮機構（YTL，4677，主板貿服組）各獲2O兆赫，ASIA SPACE則獲10兆赫。
業內消息說，目前是各網絡公司形成結盟現象，立通國際會與數碼網絡、亞通（AXIATA，6888，主板貿服組）旗下天地通結盟儼然成形；與明訊比較接近的成功集團（BJCORP，3395，主板貿服組）旗下U Mobile會否投入此陣型正拭目以待。
“這是全方位合作，包括頻譜的分享或背對背服務，細節近期敲定。” 過去在3G時代時，數碼網絡為了獲取時光網（TIMECOM，5031，主板基建計劃組）設施，最終不惜以每年5千萬令吉代價租賃上述設施達10年。
消息說，數碼網絡願意與立通國際結盟，主要是前者用戶很多，而立通國際本身沒有用戶，正好全面利用其20兆赫的4G／LTE設施，因此數碼網絡願付高價獲得此使用權。
相對來說，作為一個獲得分配20赫特容量的小型營運商，基於在建構這些基本設施方面花費龐大，因此會採取與大網絡公司結盟方式攜手前進。“採取這樣的結盟方式，所花費的資本開銷還不到單獨運行的5%。”
對於小型營運公司來說，透過提供上述設施的使用空間，立通國際每年可收取固定費用，即使有關寬帶不受使用。（星洲日報／財經）
Digi and REDtone International is exploring possibilities for cooperationRumor saying that Digi is working with a relatively small operator REDtone International to discuss cooperation, and Digi even not hesitate to buy expensive the right to use. Market rumors also saying that the deal might be finalized within a month or two.
