Globe going beyond telco, warns vs SIM swap scam

MANILA, Philippines — Globe Telecom Inc. said it intends to keep its lead in the mobile market even as it pursues its pivot to become a digital solutions platform.

While the company expands into the technology-based solutions space, Globe said it remains committed to improving its network and offering better products and services.

“Telco will continue to be our main and most important business but we now view ourselves as a digital platform that builds one business upon others,” Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu said.

“We will continue to enhance our telco business and keep an eye on maintaining our number one spot in mobile, as we compete heavily in the fixed-line business and expand our services to other fields of technology and digital solutions,” Cu said.

Globe is going beyond telco and is now actively growing its healthtech, adtech, edutech, fintech, and e-commerce businesses.

The company last week said it is slowly pivoting away from its core telecommunications business as it sees itself shifting to become a digital solutions platform over the next five to 10 years.

Globe has emerged as the most valuable telecommunications company in the country as of October, with market capitalization in the Philippine Stock Exchange soaring to a record high of  P456 billion.

Globe said its stock price zoomed to an all-time high of P3,410 last Oct. 6.

The robust increase in its share price reflects investor confidence in Globe’s growth prospects in the coming years, the company said.

Globe has earmarked P76 billion for its capital expenditures this year to support the connectivity needs of businesses and the public.

The company built 641 new cell towers, upgraded 8,175 mobile sites, and built 1,906 5G sites nationwide as of end-September.

Meanwhile, Globe has warned its customers against a modus called “SIM swap scam” which involves taking over an individual’s financial accounts.

Globe said the modus often involves a victim who has been long targeted for the scam.

“The fraudster has invested time to gather bank account details, email addresses, online credentials, personal facts and identification together with the mobile number registered with the bank for sending a one-time password (OTP),” the telco said.