After welcoming mystery investors, DITO still not done raising funds

MANILA  -DITO CME Holdings Inc. is keen on securing more funding to support the expansion of its capital-intensive telecommunications arm as it seeks to offer more products in the market.

Eric Alberto, president of the listed company, told reporters they were targeting to close a $3.9-billion project finance loan facility this year.

“If we are to be true to our ambition to be a major telco service in the country, first order for us is adequate funding,” he said.

“The primary objective of DITO CME is to raise [more investments] to be able to fund this critical project of ours, this third telco. As you know, the telco vertical is very capital intensive,” he added.

Last Feb. 13, DITO had also entered into a P5.2-billion shareholder loan agreement, which the company said would be used for operating expenses and maturing obligations. It has drawn P3.5 billion so far.

On the equity side, the operator of third telco player DITO Telecommunity (DITO Tel) welcomed two investors just last week.

An unrelated third party subscriber, who has yet to be named, bought 1.59 million common shares for P1 each, representing about 10 percent of the company’s authorized capital stock. Another bought 610 million common shares for P1 each, for nearly 4 percent of total capitalization.

The shares were sold lower than the closing price of P2.35 last Friday, August 18.

The listed company now has an authorized capital stock of 16.24 billion.

The funding boost comes on the heels of plans to release a product offering catering to enterprise clients this year. The target market is the micro, small and medium enterprise segment, which DITO Tel chief commercial officer Evelyn Jimenez described as an “underserved” and “unserved” market.

The company also recently launched its 5G home WiFi product and postpaid mobile plans.

DITO CME said net losses declined by 79 percent to P3.19 billion in the first half, supported by robust revenue growth and a slowdown in expenses. INQ