India’s Srei Infrastructure Finance is reportedly eyeing telecom tower assets and greenfield opportunities in emerging markets after exiting the local tower market. Company chairman Hemant Kanoria said Myanmar, Russia and Africa are all in its sights.
India’s Srei Infrastructure Finance (NSE:
Srei Infrastructure Finance chairman and managing director, Hemant Kanoria, told the Economic Times that the company has sounded out new tower investments in Myanmar, Russia and Africa.
“In emerging markets like Myanmar and Africa, there will be an opportunity of … taking over some asset base and then build on top,” he was cited saying. “In some countries like Russia, or even Africa, it may be pure greenfield”.
Last October, American Tower agreed to buy a majority stake in local towerco Viom Networks, in which Srei holds an 18% stake, for Rs76bn (US$1.17bn). The US towerco has won clearance from the country’s competition commission and Foreign Investment Promotion Board for the deal and Kanoria said he expects it to close by March.
According to the report, Srei, which claims on its website to have Rs347bn (US$5.1bn), of consolidated assets under management, is still assessing whether to buy existing towers from telcos or to take the greenfield route. The company may look at a small tower portfolio and then work to expand it, he said.
Srei would be one of many seeking to cash in on Myanmar’s booming tower market, expected to grow from about 7,900 sites to 29,000 by 2024.
In mid-January, edotco, the infrastructure services unit of Malaysia’s Axiata Group Berhad, officially launched in Myanmar, saying it aims to become the country’s largest towerco. Edotco agreed to buy a majority stake in Myanmar Tower Company (MTC) from Jamaica-based Digicel in October 2015 in a deal valuing the target at US$221m.
MTC’s competitors include Apollo Towers, Pan Asia Towers, Eco-Friendly Towers and Irrawaddy Towers.