KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 (Reuters) - State-controlled Telekom Malaysia (TLMM.KL: Quote, Profile , Research) may return capital to shareholders if it does not make any acquisitions within 18 months, its chief executive said on Friday.
"When we made the announcement for capital raising, we were basically gearing ourselves for potential acquisitions but if those acquisitions did not materialise, then we will look at distributing the surplus cash," Abdul Wahid Omar told reporters after a signing ceremony for a 2.9-billion ringgit ($841.8 million) Islamic bond issue.
Telekom has around 4 billion ringgit in cash group-wide, Wahid has said previously.
Telekom has a monopoly of the domestic fixed-line business and is the second-largest mobile phone operator in Malaysia with about 6.2 million subscribers.
The telco has earmarked 3 billion ringgit in capital expenditure for its Malaysian operations, Wahid said.
He also said Indonesia's move to cap new foreign investment in the fast-growing telecommunications sector should not affect future funding for its unit PT Excelcomindo Pratama Tbk (EXCL.JK: Quote, Profile , Research), Indonesia's third-largest mobile operator.
Indonesia said on Wednesday that new foreign investment in the fixed-line telecommunications sector has been capped at 49 percent, from 95 percent previously, and the mobile sector at 65 percent, also down from 95 percent. ($1=3.445 Malaysian Ringgit)
"When we made the announcement for capital raising, we were basically gearing ourselves for potential acquisitions but if those acquisitions did not materialise, then we will look at distributing the surplus cash," Abdul Wahid Omar told reporters after a signing ceremony for a 2.9-billion ringgit ($841.8 million) Islamic bond issue.
Telekom has around 4 billion ringgit in cash group-wide, Wahid has said previously.
Telekom has a monopoly of the domestic fixed-line business and is the second-largest mobile phone operator in Malaysia with about 6.2 million subscribers.
The telco has earmarked 3 billion ringgit in capital expenditure for its Malaysian operations, Wahid said.
He also said Indonesia's move to cap new foreign investment in the fast-growing telecommunications sector should not affect future funding for its unit PT Excelcomindo Pratama Tbk (EXCL.JK: Quote, Profile , Research), Indonesia's third-largest mobile operator.
Indonesia said on Wednesday that new foreign investment in the fixed-line telecommunications sector has been capped at 49 percent, from 95 percent previously, and the mobile sector at 65 percent, also down from 95 percent. ($1=3.445 Malaysian Ringgit)
