Malaysian mobile phone carrier puts Myanmar plans on hold

27 February 2022
Malaysian mobile phone carrier puts Myanmar plans on hold
Amidst the benign competition, XL Axiata is looking to raise prices to lift ARPU, but analysts are cautious on this move as this could dampen subs growth. Photo: AFP

Axiata Group, Malaysia’s largest mobile-phone carrier by market value, has put on hold the planned listing of its telecommunications infrastructure unit Edotco because of the political unrest in Myanmar, reports Bloomberg.

Edotco Group Sdn. manages more than 32,750 towers across Southeast Asian nations including Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Cambodia, according to a press release on its website. In Myanmar, the company runs over 1,800 towers and managed sites.

Axiata isn’t the only company suffering from the heightened investment risks after a military coup in Myanmar. Amata Corp., one of Thailand’s biggest industrial land developers, had said the change in government would impact its investment in the country, while Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings Co. ended its joint-venture partnership with the nation’s largest brewer Myanma Economic Holdings Pcl, which has ties to the military, Bloomberg reports.