Globe expands in Japan

Globe Telecom expanded its presence in Japan, with the establishment of an office in the capital city of Tokyo, while cutting its physical presence in Europe.

In a statement, Globe said its new unit, GlobeTel Japan Inc., would allow the company to better serve the communications needs of customers in the Philippines and about 180,000 Filipinos in Japan.

“We will continue to provide affordable and high-quality telecom services to Filipinos in Japan. We will also be adopting new business models to deliver meaningful products to overseas Filipinos,” Nikko Acosta, Globe senior vice president for international business, said in the statement.

Globe said its expansion in Japan came as it announced the closure of offices in the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain.

Globe maintained its popular “telebabad” service, DUO International, in the said markets through existing partnerships with telecom providers.

The three offices are UK Globetel Limited, Globe Mobile Italy s.r.l.and Globetel Internacional European Espana S.L.—all members of the Globe Group.

In accordance with its international business alignment, Globe will retain its offices in the United States, Singapore and Hong Kong, and its retail presence across key markets such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Globe earlier reported that profit growth slowed in the first quarter of 2016 as it booked higher charges  related to the depreciation of assets and the consolidation of unit Bayan Telecommunications.

Globe said net income in the first quarter hit P4.3 billion, up 3 percent year-on-year. Its core profit ended flat at P4.2 billion, compared to a core profit gain of 25 percent in the first quarter of 2015.

Globe’s consolidated revenue rose 14 percent to P29.9 billion during the quarter, over the same period in 2015.