THE second largest telecommunications provider in the Philippines is exploring the possibility of expanding its operations within the Asean region to complement the bloc’s relatively strong economic growth.
Globe Telecom Inc. President and CEO Ernest L. Cu said his company is thoroughly studying the prospects of the firm’s expansion, as competition is expected to pick up with the integration of the economies of Southeast Asian nations in 2015.
“We will look for white space within Asean and Asia on where to leverage the skills we’ve developed over time. We do think we’ve developed a decent telco [telecommunication company] business here in the Philippines. We have a great team and we’re thinking of ways to leverage that further in emerging economies,” he said.
Cu specifically cited Myanmar as a potential expansion area.
“There’s already a telco player in Myanmar but there are other areas we could get involved in, like financial services and mobile advertising and these areas have potential,” he said.
As a telco provider, Globe has taken the direction of providing products and services most relevant to customers amid fast-paced evolution of digital technologies, the executive noted.
“We’ve always taken the position that if consumer habits are changing, then we have to change along with it and deliver what’s relevant to them.
The real prize would be getting all of these individuals to access the Internet through their mobile phones and alternatives offered by different mobile apps become more commonplace and become the main mode of communication,” he said.
Cu earlier said his company is considering the possibility of offering its mobile-based banking service to other Southeast Asian markets once the Asean Integration is in place.
Globe operates GCash, the mobile money service of its subsidiary G-Xchange Inc. It also operates BanKO, a mobile-based, microfinance-focused savings bank, along with Bank of the Philippine Islands and Ayala Corp.
By 2015 the Asean Economic Community sets in motion the creation of a single market and production base for the 10-nation bloc fostering free flow of goods, services, skilled labor, investments and capital.
Globe booked a net income of P10.53 billion in the first nine months of the year, fueled by an increase in service revenues, which is at P72.7 billion, despite a faster rise in expenses to P42.9 billion.