OCK and partner clinch telecom towers deal from Telenor Myanmar

PETALING JAYA: OCK Group Bhd, together with its Myanmar partner, King Royal Technologies Co Ltd yesterday signed a master services agreement (MSA) with Telenor Myanmar Ltd, resulting in OCK becoming a tower company for Telenor in Myanmar.
In a press release to the stock exchange yesterday, OCK said it intends to build up to 3,000 telecommunications towers over a five-year period.
OCK plans to invest about US$75 million (RM324.4 million) on 920 telecommunications towers to be delivered in 2016 to Telenor, in a long-term “build and lease” model.
Telenor was one of the companies that were awarded a nationwide telecommunications licence by Myanmar’s government. It currently operates the largest 3G network in Myanmar, and aims to bring mobile voice and data connectivity to all cities, towns, and villages across the country in coming years.
Telenor currently serves more than 12 million customers, and covers with its network over 60% of the population.
OCK Group managing director Sam Ooi said Myanmar’s mobile phone industry has shown tremendous growth in the past year which calls for more telecommunications towers both to cater for coverage and for capacity.
“For OCK, this is a golden opportunity for the group to be able to partner with a prestigious company, Telenor. We are looking forward working closely with Telenor as its long-term partner,” he said.
In light of the group’s expansion in the regional markets, OCK Group also has businesses in Indonesia, China, Cambodia, and Singapore.
“The Myanmar investment is part of the group’s mission in growing our recurring income. Our regional expansion has always been focused on our telecommunications network services and it has been a fruitful venture.
“We will continue to be on the lookout for more opportunities in the regional markets,” Ooi said.
Telenor Myanmar chief financial officer Erik Tellman said Telenor has built more than 4,000 sites across Myanmar to date, and believes that it will need to build around 9,000 sites in order to deliver solid nationwide voice and data coverage.
“We see the clear need to expand our supply chain to secure and build sites, as rollout progresses from high density urban areas and large townships to smaller towns, villages and rural areas.”