More investors expected to come in to support DITO

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

DITO Telecommunity (DITO Tel) is expecting more capital infusion by next year, proceeds of which will be used to attracting more customers while improving and developing more product offerings.

Adel Tamano, chief administrative officer of the third telco player, told reporters last week more investments were projected to come in, signaling a strong interest from the market.

“It’s not [because] we lack money. People are interested in investing in us,” he stressed.

“As to the number of investors, I don’t know. What I do know is we have some investments, some more additional equity coming in,” Tamano added.

In October, parent company DITO CME Holdings received P3.3 billion after issuing 3.3 billion common shares to Summit Telco Holdings Corp. at P1 apiece.

The investor’s parent company based in Singapore, Summit Telco Corp. Pte. Ltd., bought in August 1.59 billion common shares from DITO for P1 each.

At the same time, another Singaporean company, Xterra Ventures Pte. Ltd., also acquired 610 million DITO common shares for the same price per share.

Meanwhile, DITO Tel also secured a $3.9-billion project finance facility to fund its expansion plans, including 5G and other mobile products.

These developed as DITO Tel earmarked capital expenditures of P27 billion for next year to reach geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas where there is lack of internet connectivity.

DITO Tel CEO Eric Alberto said the additional equity would also be allocated for customer engagement and other marketing activities to further push the brand name. A portion would also be allotted for research and development as it expands its portfolio, he said.

“Obviously, we have to raise necessary capital to keep the vision of this project. Not only [to stay] alive but … is sufficient enough for us to thrive,” Alberto told reporters.

DITO Tel had announced plans to introduce by the first quarter of next year enterprise business products backed by 5G technology. It will target small and medium enterprises and local government units.

Tamano said the company’s 5G solution could provide “enhanced speed, lower latency and the ability to connect a massive number of devices simultaneously.” —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad INQ