KUALA LUMPUR: Celcom Axiata Bhd believes there is a compelling need for consolidation in the country’s telco space than to have new players in the market.
Chief executive officer (CEO) Michael Kuehner, in responding to news report of a new service provider coming into the market by end of this month, said the market cannot accommodate new entrant.
"If you look at the typical number of telcos in the market of this size, there is a need for consolidation more than new entrant, and this is what the people are talking about and waiting,” he told reporters after Celcom and Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB) collaboration announcement here today.
It was earlier reported that a new provider called Yoodo, coming into the market as early as January 30, 2018, will be focusing on a lot of customisation, which could be similar space tapped by Digi, allowing consumers to design their own plan according to their preferences.
Kuehner said rumours of re-merger of parent company Axiata Group Bhd and Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) would make a lot of sense to Celcom, as it is going to provide a lot of synergies for both parties if it happens.
"The re-merger would make sense obviously for couple of reasons – scale, specifically in the delivery part, which is the network, as we both run extremely big assets which need to be maintained and fixed mobile convergence which is the trend worldwide.
"Obviously, TM is very strong in the fixed line business and us on the mobile side, so yes, the re-merger, if it happened, would make a lot of sense,” he said.
However, Kuehner said the merger would largely depend on the shareholders’ decision, noting that Celcom has not received any notification of the exercise to date.
This comes on the heels of Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar who has commented that major shareholder of TM and Axiata is open to re-merger.
Celcom and MAB today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on a strategic partnership to provide significant benefits spanning multiple areas across both companies.
The long-term joint venture will also include Enrich rewards and special offers in the coming months.
Benefits include easier ways to earn and spend Enrich miles, flight discounts for all Celcom customers and attractive roaming plans.