PLDT eyes 10 opportunities

Telecom giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is eyeing several investment opportunities as part of its ongoing digital evolution and transformation.

PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said the company has identified about 10 investment opportunities after investing in Berlin-based Rocket Internet AG and leading Internet TV service provider iFlix.

“With regard to Internet investments, we’ve invested in Rocket Internet and in iFlix, so far. We have a healthy pipeline of Internet investment opportunities and we intend to keep that list long and healthy,” Pangilinan said.

“I think the decision to invest needs a short time frame... in other words you have to make a quick decision because the world of the Internet does not wait for anybody. It moves quickly so you have a few weeks to decide,” he added.

PLDT invested P19.6 billion for a 10-percent stake in Rocket Internet in August last year. Rocket provides a platform for the rapid creation and scaling of consumer Internet businesses outside the US and China.

Rocket’s most prominent brands include the leading Southeast Asian e-Commerce businesses Zalora and Lazada, as well as fast growing brands with strong positions in their markets such as Dafiti, Linio, Jumia, Namshi, Lamoda, Jabong, Westwing, Home24 and HelloFresh in Latin America, Africa, Middle East, Russia, India and Europe.

Just last month, PLDT infused $15 million into Southeast Asia’s leading Internet TV service iflix to make available top TV shows and movies to 600 million consumers in the region.

iflix would offer consumers in key Southeast Asian markets including the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam more than 10,000 hours of top US, Asian regional, and local TV shows and movies starting this year.

According to Pangilinan, investment opportunities abound in main information technology (IT) countries including the US, Europe, and some parts of Asia.

“Clearly any telco has got to engage the Internet now. They cannot not participate in the Internet space beyond providing the connectivity or access.

So we’ve determined that we will participate and engage in the Internet,” Pangilinan said.

According to him, PLDT would partner with over-the-top (OTT) players, invest in OTT players, and develop its own apps and solutions.

PLDT has established strong, strategic relationships with Internet.org, Skype, Facebook, Google, Uber as well as Visa and Mastercard.

Pangilinan pointed out that the

PLDT group has also developed and launched its own apps such as Safezone, the traffic navigator of Interaksyon.com, among others.

He said the PLDT Group has invested about P30 billion annually over the last 10 years to enhance its network including internet, fiber optic, high bandwidth Ethernet nodes, 3G and long term evolution (LTE) enabled cell sites, cable landing stations, international cable systems, and international points of presence.

The PLDT chief added that the group has also invested more than P26 billion in digital infrastructure, platforms, and capabilities.