ID :
27170
Wed, 10/29/2008 - 10:49
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/27170
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Telco investment in Laos is saturated
Telco investment in Laos is saturated
(KPL) Investment in the telecommunications sector in the country is being suspended and it will be lifted in 2010.
Vice President of the National Authority of Post and Telecommunication, Padapphet Sayakhot explained that as Laos is a small country and with a small market, it already has four telecommunication companies, so that there is fierce competition among them.
The government owned telco, ETL or Enterprise of Telecommunications Lao, had received takeover offers from Chinese companies but their buyout offers were rejected said Mr Padapphet.
He added that the Chinese have been aggressive in investing in the telco sector in Laos. Making a comparison, he said that in 2001 they invested US$4 million but by 2008 their total investment jumped to US$50 to US$60 million.
Presently, three Chinese companies have investments in the Lao telco sector and the other foreign investors are from Europe and United States.
This information was disclosed by Padapphet to Lao journalists when they were covering the CAEXPO 2008 in Nanning, Guangxi province, China,
Laos was involved in telco projects in connection with the ASEAN regional telco network. For example, the ASEAN-China cooperation project was the building of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Information Superhighway and it has been in operation in Laos since March 31, 2008. The second part of this ongoing project is to get this network to function in Myanmar and Cambodia.
This project is in line with the policy of the Lao Government to turn the landlocked country into a land linked country.
Mr Padapphet further added that the rapid increase in Chinese investment in the telco sector of Laos is because they are more knowledgeable on the local situation than their western counterparts. He added that the Chinese investors were agreeable to payment by installments stretching over a period of time and therefore quite unlike their western counterparts who adopted a more rigid payment regime. Laos has five telco companies: ETL (a Lao government telco), Lao Telecom, (Lao-Singapore joint venture); Star Telecom (Lao-Vietnam joint venture); Milicom or Tigo and Sky Telecom (owned by private Thai investors) has not been served yet.
(KPL) Investment in the telecommunications sector in the country is being suspended and it will be lifted in 2010.
Vice President of the National Authority of Post and Telecommunication, Padapphet Sayakhot explained that as Laos is a small country and with a small market, it already has four telecommunication companies, so that there is fierce competition among them.
The government owned telco, ETL or Enterprise of Telecommunications Lao, had received takeover offers from Chinese companies but their buyout offers were rejected said Mr Padapphet.
He added that the Chinese have been aggressive in investing in the telco sector in Laos. Making a comparison, he said that in 2001 they invested US$4 million but by 2008 their total investment jumped to US$50 to US$60 million.
Presently, three Chinese companies have investments in the Lao telco sector and the other foreign investors are from Europe and United States.
This information was disclosed by Padapphet to Lao journalists when they were covering the CAEXPO 2008 in Nanning, Guangxi province, China,
Laos was involved in telco projects in connection with the ASEAN regional telco network. For example, the ASEAN-China cooperation project was the building of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Information Superhighway and it has been in operation in Laos since March 31, 2008. The second part of this ongoing project is to get this network to function in Myanmar and Cambodia.
This project is in line with the policy of the Lao Government to turn the landlocked country into a land linked country.
Mr Padapphet further added that the rapid increase in Chinese investment in the telco sector of Laos is because they are more knowledgeable on the local situation than their western counterparts. He added that the Chinese investors were agreeable to payment by installments stretching over a period of time and therefore quite unlike their western counterparts who adopted a more rigid payment regime. Laos has five telco companies: ETL (a Lao government telco), Lao Telecom, (Lao-Singapore joint venture); Star Telecom (Lao-Vietnam joint venture); Milicom or Tigo and Sky Telecom (owned by private Thai investors) has not been served yet.
