Telekom Malaysia remains committed for Excelcomindo

Telekom Malaysia remains committed for Excelcomindo

Bloomberg, Jakarta

Telekom Malaysia Bhd., the country's biggest phone company, said it remains committed to acquiring a stake in PT Excelcomindo Pratama, Indonesia's No.3 mobile-phone operator.

Telekom's statement of continuing interest in Excelcomindo followed reports that Telstra Corp. of Australia may offer as much as A$3 billion ($2.3 billion) for the Indonesian company.

"Our interest hasn't waned," Telekom chief executive officer Md Khir Abdul Rahman told reporters in Kuala Lumpur. "We haven't stepped away from the process." He declined to elaborate.

Telstra Corp. is bidding against China Telecom Corp. and Telekom Malaysia for Excelcomindo, which has three million subscribers and 15 percent of Indonesia's mobile market, the Australian reported this month.

In May, Telekom submitted a non-binding bid for a stake in Excelcomindo, aiming for access to a market of 231 million people.

"We have been continuing looking into the market, but it depends very much on the seller or the operator, who they want to go with," Telekom Chairman Muhammad Radzi Mansor said. Telekom will consider all aspects, he said. "People sometimes say you're paying too much or too low, or you're not getting what you paid for."