NEW DELHI, India-The Thai government agency, Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT), plans to seek a foreign strategic partner as part of its restructuring exercise, prior to telecom deregulation next year.
According to a government plan, CAT will be bifurcated into two companies -CAT Telecom and Thai Post Company-by the end of this year. CAT Telecom would then be listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). Before the listing, officials said CAT Telecom might seek a strategic partner to add value to its stock. The plan allows CAT to sell 25 percent of its stocks to a strategic partner and the other 22 percent to investors.
CAT has hired the Boston Consulting Group to prepare a business plan. This report is likely to be submitted by December. CAT officials said mobile telephony will be a key business area that will be retained and developed. CAT has a joint venture with Hutchison to operate CDMA services in some service areas.
