Telekom Malaysia Keen to Enter Thai Mobile Market

Telekom Malaysia Bhd. is seeking a local partner to enter the Thai mobile phone market as an operator but is not looking for a controlling stake in the venture, a top company executive said Friday.

"If an opportunity arises and the valuation is fair, we are very keen to invest in Thailand's mobile phone business... We have had a few discussions with a few people," Yusof Annuar Yaacob, chief executive of Telekom Malaysia International Sdn. Bhd., Telekom Malaysia's international investment arm, told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview.
Foreign operators must team up with local partners in Thailand in order to participate in the country's telecom industry because of a foreign ownership limit for the industry of 49%.

Yaacob said among Thai telecoms operators Telekom has had talks with is True Corp., the parent of Thailand's third largest mobile phone operator True Move (previous called TA Orange) He declined to comment on whether a deal might materialize any time soon.
"There aren't many local operators left to talk to," he said. Last month, Temasek Holdings Singapore's state-owned investment company, bought through its units a 49.6% stake in Thailand's Shin Corp. from members of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's family for 73.3 billion Baht - the biggest share acquisition in Thai history.

Shin holds a 42.9% interest in Advanced Info Services (AIS), Thailand's largest mobile operator while SingTel Strategic Investments, another company linked to Temasek, also owns 19.3% in Advanced Info.

In October last year, Norwegian telecom firm Telenor ASA bought a controlling stake in United Communication Industry (DTAC) from the founding Bencharongkul family, kicking off the acquisition spree in Thailand's telecom industry.

UCOM owns 41.6% in Singapore-listed Total Access Communication, Thailand's number two mobile phone operator. Yaacob said he does not foresee any legal obstacles to Telekom's plan to enter Thailand's liberalizing telecom industry as it is not aiming to take a majority stake in the Thai venture.

"We are looking for a partnership deal here and we're not seeking for a majority stake. So, there shouldn't be any legal problem," said Yaacob.

Telekom Malaysia International owns 19.2% in Thailand's Samart Corp. However, Samart isn't likely to be among Telekom's targets as a partner as the Thai company has said it has no plan to invest in network or infrastructure and would rather retain its focus on mobile content and applications.