XL Axiata’s Rp 4.5t expansion plan flies in the face of stiff competition

Jakarta Globe | December 28, 2010 | Shirley Christie
XL Axiata, one of Indonesia’s largest cellular operators, plans to spend Rp 4.5 trillion ($500 million) to invest in its growth next year, a top executive said on Tuesday.
That investment is almost the same as the company’s capital expenditure this year, said Hasnul Suhaimi, president director of XL Axiata.
“Most of the funds will be used to improve our network,” he said in a phone interview on Tuesday. XL Axiata’s expansion plan includes building more base transceiver stations, towers and fiber optics and improving the billing system across the nation within the next year.
Hasnul, who claimed the investment would come from XL’s internal funds, said the company should reach its 2010 revenue target. Its aim is a 15 percent increase on its total revenue of Rp 13.9 trillion from 2009.
“The growth mainly came from new subscribers and data subscriptions,” Hasnul said.
Profit in the Jakarta-based company rose to Rp 2.1 trillion in the first nine months this year from Rp 1.2 trillion during the same period last year. Its revenue rose Rp 13 trillion in the first nine months from 9.8 trillion over the same period.
Indonesia has one of the world’s most crowded telecommunications markets, with 11 operators fighting for customers in a population of 237 million. According to data from the Indonesian Cellular Phone Association (ATSI), there are about 180 million cellular service subscribers in the country.
….
Read full article here via Jakarta Globe