Globe establishes office in Tokyo, refocuses European operations

GLOBE TELECOM, Inc. on Monday said it is expanding operations in Japan, while at the same time closing its offices in three European countries.

In a statement, Globe said it is establishing a new unit, GlobeTel Japan, Inc., which is expected to cater to both customers in the Philippines and the 180,000-strong community of overseas Filipinos in Japan.

“We will continue to provide affordable and high-quality telecom services to our kababayans in Japan. We will also be adopting new business models to deliver meaningful products to overseas Filipinos,” Globe Senior Vice- President for International Business Nikko Acosta was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Globe said it is closing offices in the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain, citing the “changing competitive landscape in Europe.”

These offices are UK Globetel Limited and Globe Mobile Italy s.r.l., which both opened in 2013, and Globetel Internacional European Espana S.L., which began operations in 2014.

However, Globe said it will continue offering customers its Duo International service in the three countries through existing partnerships with telecommunications providers.

Duo International is a subscription service that assigns a virtual international number to a registered Globe prepaid, postpaid or TM mobile number, allowing overseas Filipinos to call the assigned number at domestic rates.

The Ayala- led telco said it will be retaining offices in the United States, Singapore and Hong Kong. It will also continue to have retailers in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.

The popularity of Internet- based applications, such as Viber, Skype and Line, has affected voice and messaging revenues of telecommunications companies around the world.

In the first quarter of 2016, Globe reported international long- distance voice revenues from its mobile and fixed line businesses fell 5% year- on-year to P2.31 billion. This was attributed “to the migration of international traffic through alternative channels that make use of Internet- based applications ( Viber, Skype, Line, Yahoo, etc.).”

Globe saw a 3% increase in net income to P4.3 billion in the first three months of 2016, as strong data consumption offset the decline in traditional mobile voice and SMS revenues.

Mobile voice revenues, which make up 35% of total mobile service revenues, fell 11% to P8.1 billion, while mobile SMS dropped 15% to P5.8 billion in the three-month period, due to the increasing usage of Internet-based voice and messaging apps.

On the other hand, mobile data revenues, which account for 40% of the total mobile service revenues, surged 62% to P9.1 billion in January to March.

Shares in Globe lost P2 or 0.08% to close at P2,358 apiece on Monday.