Hutchinson Telecommunications International (HTI), the Hong Kong-based telecom group, has said it will not sell its Thai mobile unit to state-owned telco CAT Telecom for less than Bt6.57bn (US$220m), according to the Bangkok Post.
Back in September,…
Hutchinson Telecommunications International (HTI), the Hong Kong-based telecom group, has said it will not sell its Thai mobile unit to state-owned telco CAT Telecom for less than Bt6.57bn (US$220m), according to the Bangkok Post.
Back in September, Thailand’s Information and Communications Technology Ministry (ICT) ordered CAT to pay less for Hutchinson Telecommunications International (HTI)’s CDMA assets.
According to local newspaper The Nation, the Ministry has said CAT should pay Bt4bn (US$135m) instead of Bt7.2bn (US$240m).
ICT Minister Chuti Krairiksh was quoted saying that it was not necessary for CAT to pay such a high price for the network and that it should instead save money for other projects as part of the government’s plan to promote CAT and TOT as the national network providers.
But Hutch would rather mothball the company than to sell it for the price asked, an unnamed source told the Bangkok Post.
Last April, the government approved CAT Telecom’s plan to take complete ownership of Hutchison CAT Wireless Multimedia (HCWM), its JV with HTI. CAT was expected to pay around Bt7.2bn for the 74% held by HTI. The network covers 25 provinces, including the Bangkok area.
At the time of the approval, CAT president Jirayuth Roongsrithong was quoted saying that the deal would enable CAT to generate Bt4bn in revenues in the first year of operations and add 1.5 million subscribers to its name.
