PLDT unit sees HK mobile users surging to 65,000 by yearend

Hong Kong — PLDT Global Corp. (PGC), the international sales and marketing arm of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) Group, hopes to increase its subscriber base in Hong Kong from 50,000 as of end-2006 to about 65,000 by the end of this year.

PGC operates in Hong Kong via a mobile virtual network operation (MVNO) branded as 1628 Smart in partnership with Hong Kong CSL. Launched in April 2006, it was the PLDT Group’s first MVNO or international mobile business.

PCG is also exploring the possibility of entering into similar MVNO partnership with operators in Europe (one per country having a huge OFW population) and in North America. In Italy alone, there are around 140,000 Filipinos while in the US there are 2.2 million, half of which is in California. Canada has another 320,000 Filipinos.

PCG Hong Kong’s general manager Victor Geniuno said the number of subscribers to PLDT’s international mobile service in Hong Kong currently stands at 60,000. “We expect to add another 5,000 this year,” he said.

Despite its phenomenal following in Hong Kong and its being the leading telecom service provider among overseas Filipino workers here, Genuino said there is still a lot of work to do. The Filipino population is officially estimated at 120,000, although the unofficial count is around 130,000.

He estimates that each Filipino consumer in Hong Kong consumes around HK$200 worth of recharge vouchers (around P1,600).

From $24 million last year, PCG expects to grow its net income by 10 percent to 15 percent this year. Hong Kong operations account for 40 percent of PGC’s revenues. Of the $24 million, around 80 percent are from calls, and the rest from value-added services such as text messaging and remittances.

PCG also has MVNO operations in Singapore, where it has 45,000 subscribers, less than a year after it was launched.

A wholly owned subsidiary of PLDT, PCG earlier announced that it will be focusing on the MVNO business model to tap the growing OFW communities in Asia, the United States and Europe.

PGC president and CEO Alfredo Panlilio said the company is veering away from the traditional retail voice services such as phone cards and postpaid IDD services and aggressively growing its international mobile business.

“We achieved some success as a result of the company’s focus on a stronger and more viable MVNO business model for the growing OFW communities,” he said.

“Through innovative products and services as well as strategic partnerships, PGC has been able to penetrate the OFW market effectively and boost its revenues in the process,” he added.

Panlilio explained that PGC’s international mobile business through partnerships with local operators in Hong Kong and Singapore appeared to be a more sustainable business model. It had favorable economic returns and it allowed PGC to introduce mobile innovations featuring the best.

PGC now operates in five major areas: Hong Kong, Singapore, the US, United Kingdom and the Middle East.