Saudi Telecom, the largest Arab telco, wants to strike deals with one or more Indian operators once the country concludes its current 3G licencing round.
The company owns Indian operator Aircel through its investment in Malaysian telco Maxis. It plans to…
Saudi Telecom, the largest Arab telco, wants to strike deals with one or more Indian operators once the country concludes its current 3G licencing round.
The company owns Indian operator Aircel through its investment in Malaysian telco Maxis. It plans to increase its presence in India beyond the handful of states where it currently sells mobile phone services, according to Ghassan Hasbani, the chief executive officer of Saudi Telecom’s international division.
“We have very strong beachheads,” said Hasbani in an interview with Abu Dhabi newspaper The National. “STC’s strategy in India is to expand further based on its experience.”
Saudi Telecom might seek to raise funds from the debt markets in the near future, said Hasbani. He declined to say how much the company might raise or when.
The telco owns Viva Bahrain and Viva Kuwait in the Middle East. It also has stakes in Oger Telecom, which is active in Turkey, and Maxis, which owns operators in India, Indonesia and Malaysia.
A recent HSBC research note identified Saudi Telecom as the Arab operator most capable of expanding outside its home market over the next few years.
“Given its history of paying low transaction multiples for acquisitions, we see Saudi Telecom as one of the most prudent telecoms operators in the Middle East,” said Kunal Bajaj, a telecoms analyst at HSBC, in the note. “Despite being acquisition hungry, we believe there is limited risk of Saudi Telecom overpaying compared with its peers in the region.”
