By Elffie Chew, Manuel Baigorri and Andreo Calonzo

PLDT Inc is considering selling an additional 2,000 telecommunications towers, according to people with knowledge of the matter, extending the Philippine firm’s recent digital infrastructure asset divestments.

The country’s second-biggest telecom and digital services provider by market value is talking to banks for the potential disposal, said the people. A transaction would involve PLDT selling the towers and then leasing them back, and could value them at about US$300 million, they said, asking not to be identified as the process is private.

PLDT divested half its towers in April for 77 billion pesos (US$1.3 billion) in two portfolios to units of Edotco Group Sdn Bhd and EdgePoint Infrastructure, according to a company statement in April.

Deliberations are still ongoing and PLDT could decide to keep the business, the people said. A representative for PLDT couldn’t immediately comment.

Should PLDT proceed with the planned sale, it would be joining its rival Globe Telecom Inc in selling three portfolios of towers. Globe signed a sale and leaseback deal worth 20 billion pesos last month, with a company backed by Macquarie Capital and Global Network Inc. The deal followed the disposal in August of two other tower portfolios to a KKR & Co-backed company and a Stonepeak joint venture for about 71 billion pesos

PLDT, which has a market value of about 321 billion pesos, is backed by Japan’s Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp and Hong Kong-based investment firm First Pacific Co, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company’s total mobile subscribers stood at about 69 million by the end of June, while its broadband services had around 4.1 million users, its latest investor presentation shows.

Thailand’s telecom regulator will approve the controversial planned merger between True Corporation and Total Access Communication (Dtac) despite an independent study showing it will hurt competition, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) will meet on Thursday to vote on the True-Dtac merger, having received only two of three reports commissioned from its foreign adviser.

The NBTC has hired UK-based SCF Associates to conduct an impact study of the proposed merger. SCF is contracted to submit three reports for the study – on September 14, October 14, and November 14.

However, the NBTC decided to meet on Thursday after insisting it already has enough information to rule on the deal, said the source.

The source quoted the NBTC as saying, “The first and second reports already cover the impact of the merger as well as economic models from other countries that have undergone similar mergers of telecom operators. Furthermore, the NBTC has received additional information from its four subcommittees regarding the merger, which should be enough to make a decision.”

The source said it is thought the NBTC will vote 3:2 to approve the True-Dtac merger.

A copy of the first SCF report obtained by The Nation said the merger would adversely affect competition in the Thai mobile market for data, voice and messaging, as well as the market for bundled services integrated with mobile connectivity, which characterises the country’s current and future mobile market. It also found that uncompetitive market conditions resulting from the merger would be difficult to rectify via the introduction of new operators. https://www.nationmultimedia.com