PLDT Inc. is selling a few assets which will allow the firm to rake in “several billions of pesos” to fund its capital expenditures for 2020, its chairman said.
Manuel V. Pangilinan, who chairs the telco titan, said his group has already received bids for Smart Tower in Ayala, and is also putting up for sale three other properties, all of which he did not name.
The company is also selling its remaining shares in German tech company Rocket Internet, in which it has about 2-million shares left.
“We have the bids in already for Smart Tower. We are selling three other minor properties. We also need to sell all of our shares in the German company Rocket [Internet],” he said in a recent interview.
For Smart Tower, a property along Ayala Avenue in Makati, the company expects to rake in “at least” P5 billion.
Pangilinan noted that the proceeds of the asset sale will be used to bankroll its capex for 2020, which is “slightly bigger than 2019.”
Last year, the company’s planned capital outlays amounted to P78.4 billion.
PLDT is ramping up its capex to develop its network. It is gearing toward deploying 4G radio antennas in all of its cell sites, and is planning to introduce the country’s first 5G mobile service this quarter.
For 2020, the company will take a more aggressive stance to regain its title as the country’s top mobile provider through Smart Communications Inc.
“We need to make our customers happy, and give them better services. That’s the only way you can compete—have the better service in the market,” said Smart President Alfredo S. Panlilio.
PLDT posted a 2-percent decline in net income to P16 billion in January to September 2019, despite a 2-percent increase in revenues to P124.43 billion.