Ooredoo and CK Hutchison merge Indonesian operations

Indosat Ooredoo and H3i are merging to form an Indonesian mega-operator valued at $6 billion.

Parent companies Ooredoo Group and CK Hutchison Holdings say their respective businesses are ‘highly complementary’, which stands to reason as they’re both Indonesian operators. Inevitably they think its great news for shareholders, punters and the country. They seem to think Indonesian regulators will be relaxed about the merger of the third and fourth placed players in the market as they’re expecting it to complete by the end of the year.

“This agreement is a significant step towards our shared vision of creating outstanding value for our customers and shareholders by bringing together two of Indonesia’s leading telecoms brands to create a stronger number two player in Indonesia, backed by two highly committed partners in Ooredoo Group and CK Hutchison,” said Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo, MD of Ooredoo Group.

“I would like to express our most sincere gratitude to the government of Indonesia for its progressive policies that are enabling this consolidation and the creation of a more sustainable telecoms industry, which will benefit customers, all operators, local shareholders and the people of Indonesia.”

“With greater scale, expanded spectrum, and a more efficient cost structure, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison will also be better positioned to extend the rollout of its network and enhance service quality and speed,” said Canning Fok, Group Co-MD of CK Hutchison. “I would like to thank Ooredoo Group for the commitment to this process. Finally, I would also like to express gratitude to the government of Indonesia. Its foresight in creating an investment friendly policy environment is helping to build a strong and sustainable mobile market in Indonesia.”

Seems like a done deal, doesn’t it? Indonesia is a massive market and the combined operations will have somewhere close to 100 million subscribers. Three strong MNOs, as opposed to two leaders and two challengers, seems to increasingly be the equilibrium reached by mobile markets around the world and it seems likely this move will improve the proposition for Indonesian consumers.