The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, has announced it is investing US$50m in Indonesia’s largest independent towerco Protelindo.
The cash injection is in the form of a loan rather than an equity investment,…
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, has announced it is investing US$50m in Indonesia’s largest independent towerco Protelindo.
The cash injection is in the form of a loan rather than an equity investment, Sarvesh Suri, IFC country manager for Indonesia, told TelecomFinance.
The money will help Protelindo build more towers to improve mobile coverage in the country, IFC said in a statement, as demand for mobile phone services is rapidly growing.
Between 2011 and 2012, the number of mobile phone subscribers in the country increased 13% to 282 million.
“Improving infrastructure is critical in driving Indonesia’s economic growth,” stated Wiebke Schloemer, IFC’s infrastructure and natural resources manager for East Asia and the Pacific. “Our investment in Protelindo is part of our commitment to accelerating infrastructure development in Indonesia, particularly in the telecommunications sector.”
In late May the towerco secured a five-year US$525m facility for general corporate purposes and to part-refinance a US$625m six-month bridge facility.
Protelindo owns and operators approximately 9,000 telecoms towers across Indonesia, and its customers include the country’s major mobile carriers.
Indonesia is home to many independent towercos, many of which have been contemplating M&A deals recently in order to monetise their assets.
A few weeks ago, incumbent Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) said it was considering selling a 49% stake in its tower unit Mitratel in order to focus on its core business.
Before that, in January, Solusi Tunas Pratama (STP) acquired 300 towers from Hutchison for an undisclosed sum. And last year it was reported that Axis Telekom, a towerco subsidiary of Saudi Telecom Company (STC), was looking to sell 1,600 towers for US$300m.
