Japan's NTT Docomo is to sell its 16.5 percent stake in Malaysian 3G operator U Mobile for US$100 million, the same amount it paid for the stake last year. U Mobile's parent company, U Television, will buy the stake off Docomo. In a statement, Docomo gave no reason for exiting the Malaysian market but reports have suggested there was a difference of opinion with other shareholders over management of the company. U Mobile has also struggled to gain market share in the country's competitive mobile market, racking up only 320,000 WCDMA/HSPA connections (according to Wireless Intelligence), giving it just a 1.18 percent market share.
The move is a surprise in light of Docomo's aggressive international expansion plans. Last year, Docomo set a target of achieving 10 percent of its sales from foreign ventures in a decade to compensate for slowing growth in the Japanese market. It already owns stakes in India's sixth-largest mobile operator, Tata Teleservices (26 percent), and Bangladesh's third-largest mobile operator, Aktel (30 percent), and last week announced plans to buy German content distribution platform vendor - net mobile - for EUR41.6 million.
source: GMBB, Wireless Intelligence
The move is a surprise in light of Docomo's aggressive international expansion plans. Last year, Docomo set a target of achieving 10 percent of its sales from foreign ventures in a decade to compensate for slowing growth in the Japanese market. It already owns stakes in India's sixth-largest mobile operator, Tata Teleservices (26 percent), and Bangladesh's third-largest mobile operator, Aktel (30 percent), and last week announced plans to buy German content distribution platform vendor - net mobile - for EUR41.6 million.
source: GMBB, Wireless Intelligence
No comments:
Post a Comment