Mitratel, an Indonesian telecom tower company backed by Singapore Government Investment Corporation (GIC), is seeking local partners to expand its presence in Southeast Asian markets, according to people familiar with the matter.。

Hendra Purnama, chief investment officer at Mitratel, said the company had received several deal proposals but had not yet finalized them.。He said: "Many companies are approaching Mitratel, but we have not yet found the ideal partner because none of the proposals received so far have sparked interest in our partnership.。"

Last year, Purnama said in an interview that the company was looking to acquire Asian companies as part of its overseas expansion plans, without giving further details.。

But this time, according to Purnama, Mitratel prefers to expand in other parts of Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, because these countries are closer, have similar regional cultures, and have a higher level of technological development.。

"We are waiting for the right opportunities in these countries, whether it is acquiring companies or telecom tower assets."。"He said。

As Indonesia's largest telecommunications tower company, Mitratel has more than 37,000 telecommunications towers and 29,000 fiber optic lines.。In the first nine months of 2023, Mitratel made a profit of 1.43 trillion rupees, up from 1.22 trillion rupees; as for revenue, Mitratel's revenue during the period amounted to 6.3 trillion rupees, compared with 5 in the same period last year.6 trillion rupees up 12% thanks to numerous new telecom towers and fiber optic lines。

To continue expanding profits, Mitratel is currently busy acquiring Telkomsel's tower assets as well as small operators, as these small businesses face considerable competitive pressure.。

Specifically, the company currently plans to acquire approximately 2,600 of Telkomsel's telecommunications towers.。Before that, it was 1..64 trillion rupees (about 1.$03.5 billion) for Indosat's 997 telecom towers。

It is reported that Mitratel raised 18 in its initial public offering..77 trillion rupees, after listing in November 2021。Telkom Indonesia holds Mitratel 71.8% stake, with the Indonesian Investment Authority (INA) holding 5.97%, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC holds 5.56%。

Looking at the industry, Mitratel's ambition to rush to the world is evident.。Other companies in the same industry, such as PT Tower Bersama Infrastructure and Sarana Menara Nusantara, remain focused on domestic operations.。

Given the growth in bandwidth consumption, the country's telecom operators are constantly investing in the fiber sector。In May 2022, Saratoga supported Bersama Digital Infrastructure Asia (formerly Provident Consolidated Holdings) at 45.22 trillion rupees for Tower Bersama 62.38% of the shares。

In early August, Adam Gifari, president of Sarana Menara Nusantara, said publicly that the company already has more than 179 kilometers of fiber networks and plans to spend about 6 trillion rupees this year to develop telecommunications towers and fiber networks in the country.。

As Indonesia rushes to expand its telecommunications network, Starlink, backed by space exploration technology company SpaceX, is expanding its satellite technology to provide a better internet network for remote areas of Indonesia.。