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QTel mulls additional investment in the Philippines

Published by Enes under , , , on 11:12 AM


A Qatar-based telecommunications company is looking to increase further its investment on Philippine soil. Qatar Telecom QSC (QTel), has a minimal investment in a local listed firm, Liberty Telecommunications Holdings, Inc. The company, through its chairman Abdul Bin Saud Al-Thani, said that prospects in the Philippine telecommunications were so good that they feel that new investments are needed to be made, especially on the data side of the business.

According to Al-Thani, the key technologies that the company was looking at included further advancements in global system for mobile communications (GSM) technology and next-generation mobile wireless broadband technology long-term evolution (LTE). “We’re exploring more investments in telecoms, not just in mobile voice, but also in information technology. Additional investments will be needed, and we’re willing to make those investments,” he said during an interview at the Philippine Business Conference and Expo held recently.

Al-Thani however did not disclose the amount of additional investment that QTel would be having with Liberty. He only said that a comprehensive development plan is needed to be crafted first to determine how much the telecom firm new project would costs. At present, the company has 32 percent investment at the local telecommunications holding firm and QTel is planning to increase it by purchasing additional shareholdings. “We will look at that, up to the maximum allowed by law. In another country, we own as much as 80 percent of the company,” he added.

QTel’s expansion in the Philippines would involve further investments in Liberty, but Al-Thani said that it has no exclusivity agreement with Liberty, it respected its relations with Liberty’s parent company, San Miguel Corporation (SMC). “SMC is our partner and we honor our friendship. Our relationship is beyond partnership. We have a good bond. We are friends,” he said.

Al-Thani also added that the Philippines has always been in their plans and in fact has been in their “radar screen” for a long time. He acknowledges that “the Philippines is a growing market, a high-end market, and there are lot of prospects here, not only in voice. We want to explore the future of telecom technology.”

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 16th, 2010 at 12:32 am and is filed under Announcements, Corporations, Entrepreneur Philippines, Management, Philippine Business News, Philippines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


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