TM ACQUIRES 49% STAKE IN INDIA'S SPICE TELECOM, SECURES CRITICAL PIECE IN REGIONAL FOOTPRINT

Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) today secured a critical piece in its regional footprint, with the acquisition a 49% stake in Spice Communications Private Limited (Spice) of India for a consideration of USD178.85 million. The acquisition, made through TM’s international investment holding company TM International Sdn Bhd (TMI) involved the purchase of the stake held by Deutsche Bank AG and Ashmore Investment Management Limited consortium (DBA). The remaining 51% remains with the existing shareholders, the Mcorp Global Ltd and its associates (Mcorp).

A statement jointly released in Kuala Lumpur and New Delhi stated that the definitive agreements governing the transaction were executed in Kuala Lumpur today. Completion of the transaction is expected within a month, subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals. A media conference-cum-briefing explaining the transaction was also held in Kuala Lumpur jointly by senior TM and Mcorp officials.

Spice is a privately held company incorporated in India providing cellular telecom services in the states of Punjab and Karnataka. The company commenced operations in 1997 after receiving its cellular licences from the Government of India. With the Company’s recent decision to migrate to the Unified Acess Licensing regime, the scope of services allowable has since broadened to further include full and limited mobility fixed and wireline services, VAS, as well as broadband services. Through new applications, the Company is also in the process of obtaining licences for 6 new circles (namely Jammu/Kashmir, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh West/East), as well as National Long Distance (NLD) and International Long Distance (ILD) licences.

Strategic Investment
According to TM Chairman Tan Sri Mohd Radzi Mansor, the proposed investment is consistent with TM’s objectives of becoming a significant mobile player in the Asian markets, and to participate in the growth opportunities in the Indian cellular market. TM, which has re-strategised its international investments to focus on regional markets closer to Malaysia, has strong presence in the Asia Pacific region, with investments in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore and Pakistan.

“India is the missing piece in our regional footprint. Now with Spice as part of the TM family, it strengthens our regional presence and complements our existing presence in Sri Lanka where we are the number one, and Bangladesh where we are the number two mobile operator. We are excited about sharing our experience and learn more about the Indian market from Spice.

With Punjab being the most prosperous state in the country and Karnataka dubbed as the “Silicon Valley” of India, there is tremendous potential for mobile telephony in these markets. We are optimistic that Spice will contribute positively to the overall performance of TM in the near future” he said.

Reiterating this, TM Group CEO Dato’ Abdul Wahid Omar described organic growth as the key approach for creating shareholder value in Spice. “Apart from growth through new cellular circles expansion, we are excited about the implementation of other services under the Unified Access licensing regime. TM and its partner Mcorp will seek to grow Spice to be a market leader in the geographies it operates in, including attaining a pan-India presence,” he said.

“Spice customers today join TM’s global mobile subscriber base of over 20 million. Apart from TM’s operational and management experience both in Malaysia and key Asian regional markets, Spice customers stand to benefit from through the creation and innovation of new products and services, sharing of technological experience and implementation, and the leveraging of group synergies such as in global procurement,” he further added.

Mcorp Global Chairman Dr B K Modi described India and Malaysia as natural allies and which have strong historic cultural ties, and share the same values and aspirations.

“Today, both countries are at the forefront of the revolution in Information, Communication and Entertainment (ICE) technologies and have much to offer each other. Together, they could become a powerful force to take Asian companies to an entirely new globally competitive level,” he said.

“We are totally committed to the principles of enhancing human productivity – boosting the prosperity of the entire Asia Pacific region, and promoting global peace for the sake of all humanity. It is now time to redefine our relationship, rewrite our destiny, and reinvent the future. I am confident our strategic partnership with TM will create a new synergy and help us in maximizing growth in one of the world’s fastest growing markets,” he added.

Dr Modi also described Spice as the pioneering brand of mobile telephony in India, committed to becoming the most preferred choice for energetic young minds through synchronized performance in ICE products and services. Spice, he said, has been built on the bedrock of its values: Fun, Innovation, Vibrancy, Empathetic, Trustworthy and Fast to Respond. It has a presence in two of the high potential markets of Punjab and Karnataka.

Spice & the Indian cellular market
Indian government statistics indicate that India, one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world, is among the top10 countries in the world in terms of the size of its telecommunications network and ranks second to China in Asia. Overall tele-density grew from 2.86 per cent in 2000 to around 9.11 per cent in March 2005, a growth of Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of around 26%. At end-August 2005, teledensity crossed the 10 per cent mark. The mobile subscriber base alone increased from 6.5 million in 2002 to around 80 million in January 2006, a CAGR of 109%.

The Punjab and Karnataka circles in which Spice operates account for 12.9 per cent of India’s cellular market share. Spice has a market share of 28.9% in Punjab and 6.5% in Karnataka respectively and is the second largest telecom player in Punjab in market share terms. Outside of the Metro circles (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta), the 2 states have the highest mobile density. Both states are recognized as the economic hubs of India, with Punjab enjoying the highest per capita income in the country, and Karnataka known as the “Silicon Valley” of India.

Spice subscribers can roam on national and international networks. The company has the highest International roaming coverage involving tie-ups with over 419 International operators across 200 countries

Lazard India were sole financial advisors to TM and TMI on this transaction

About TM
TM, a leading regional information and communications group, offers a comprehensive range of communication services and solutions in fixed-line, mobile, data and broadband. As one of the largest listed companies on Bursa Malaysia with an operating revenue of more than RM13 billion, TM is driven to deliver value to its stakeholders in a highly competitive environment.

The Group places emphasis on continuing customer service quality enhancements and innovations. Currently, with investments and operations in 12 countries around Asia and globally, TM is focused on achieving sustainable growth in both the local and international markets.

For further information on TM, visit www.tm.com.my.

About TM International Sdn Bhd
Through its investment-holding arm, TM International, TM is one of the leading regional telecommunications companies with interests in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Cambodia.

TM International has a track record of adding value to its investments, and an approach which focuses on developing the skills and capabilities of its local management teams and working in partnership with these local teams to achieve strong market positions and profitability.

TM’s overseas investments have always contributed significantly to the Group’s overall PATAMI. For the nine months ended September 2005, TM’s overseas investment contributed 10.8 per cent or RM1.1 billion to the Group revenue. PATAMI contribution was 21.2 per cent or RM261.5 million to Group’s PATAMI.


About Spice Telecom
Spice Telecom the brand name of Spice Communications Private Limited is presently operating Cellular Phone Services in the states of Punjab and Karnataka. Considered as one of the best service providers of mobile telephony in India, Spice Telecom is a flagship company of MCorp Global (www.mcorpglobal.com) a pioneer in introducing cellular mobile telephone services in India and has interests in the fields of Information, Communication and Entertainment (ICE). Launched over nine years ago, Spice’s cellular services have a strong customer base of over 1.8 million as at January 2006 in the challenging and lucrative Punjab and Karnataka markets.

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