Key Findings
- Consolidation in the telecommunications industry is still ongoing. However, the number as well as the size of deals have been decreasing over the years.
- Overall, most investment deals have been struck within Asia-Pacific, with only a few taking place outside it. The main acquirers in the past 2.5 years have been Telstra and Softbank, with deal acquirers mostly in Japan and Australia. Of the deals that took place outside Asia-Pacific, most targeted companies in the United States, followed by Europe.
- Within Asia-Pacific, India is a top target for investments. This is due to its tremendous potential for growth and the fact that it is already at a turning point in its development. Australia is another top destination. Most deals involved a mobile network operator acquiring a stake in another company to increase its core competence. eCommerce and content have been identified as key growth areas in Asia-Pacific. There are still some mergers & acquisitions ongoing between two mobile network operators. The bulk occurred before April 2014.
- Vietnam is starting to open up, with 2015 seeing the first acquisition of a foreign telecommunications operator by a Vietnamese company and the first time an overseas investor invested in a Vietnamese telecommunications infrastructure company.
- Fintech is starting to resonate with investors, mainly because digital services are the future. As digital services are more likely than not to take place on mobile devices, the mobile network operator has the advantage of an existing relationship.
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