PLDT unit eyes $50M revenue

HONG KONG – A wholly-owned subsidiary of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) expects to book a 25 percent increase in revenues this year as it offers innovative products and services to customers.

In a interview, Alex Caeg, president and chief executive officer of PLDT Global Corp., said that the company sees its revenues hitting more than $50 million this year from about $40 million last year.

Caeg said the growth would come from the increase in the number of customers particularly Filipinos working and living abroad.

He pointed out that PLDT Global expects to book 300,000 customers by year end or 20 percent higher compared to the current base of 250,000.

PLDT’s international sales and marketing arm has operations in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom.

The company’s mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) business is a mobile operator that rides on the physical network infrastructure of other carriers to provide telecom services for a specific market.

There are 150,000 overseas Filipinos in Hong Kong; 316,000 in Malaysia; 160,000 in Singapore; and 250,000 in UK.

Apart from its MVNO business, Caeg said PLDT Global has also branded partnerships in Taiwan, Guam, and Macau.

Under the partnership, the mobile operator has the sole responsibility for operations and marketing but still carries the Smart Pinoy brand to reach the Filipino audience.

 â€œWe are already present particularly in countries where there is concentration of Filipino communities,” Caeg stressed.

He explained that the group is now introducing innovations on data plan as customers are no longer contented on voice calls and short messaging system (SMS).

“We are understanding the needs of Filipinos as voice calls and text messages are no longer enough. We have to look at what they do in terms of lifestyle and we have to bring them closer to us,” he stressed.

PLDT Hong Kong senior sales manager Babari Gozum said the company has cornered more than 50 percent of the market where it established its presence in August 2004.

“New services must be offered since we have been here for 10 years. The growth has always been steady,” Gozum stressed.

PLDT Global is targeting countries that are primary destination of Filipinos working particularly the Middle East and Japan.