ID :
339196
Wed, 08/27/2014 - 12:27
Auther :

Axiata Says Not In Talks With China Mobile For Stake Sale

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- Axiata Group Bhd, Malaysia's biggest mobile phone operator by market value, on Wednesday denied that China Mobile Ltd was buying a stake in the company. "No one has approached us... We don't need any cash or any kind of investment at Axiata level," said President and Group Chief Executive Officer Jamaludin Ibrahim. He was commenting on a report, earlier this month, that said Beijing-based China Mobile was purchasing a 20 per cent stake in Axiata for some US$3.7 billion. Meanwhile, Axiata said it had no plans to divest its business in Pakistan just yet, despite the fibre optic business not being a part of Axiata's core business of mobile operation. "The third-generation mobile network is going to explode in Pakistan and there is strong demand for fibre optics network. "Fibre is now a very important part of our business and it could spell other opportunities for us in Pakistan," Jamaludin said, adding it would make a decision on the company's business in Pakistan by the first quarter of next year. Axiata currently has controlling interest in mobile operators in Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Cambodia, next to smaller holdings in India, Pakistan and Singapore. It had earlier divested businesses in Thailand and Iran. --BERNAMA

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