P1 Obtains RM50 Million Loan From Malaysia Debt Ventures

P1 Obtains RM50 Million Loan From Malaysia Debt Ventures

PETALING JAYA, Jan 15 (Bernama) -- Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (P1) has obtained a RM50 million loan from Malaysia Debt Ventures Bhd (MDV) for further expansion of its 4G WiMAX network infrastructure services nationwide.

Chief Executive Officer Michael Lai said the financing was part of P1's total capital expenditure of RM200 million for 2010.

"This funding from MDV will further boost our progress towards becoming the country's leading wireless broadband provider," he told reporters after the signing ceremony between P1 and MDV here on Friday.

The RM50 million loan is to be repaid over 48 months.

Lai said the company would allocate about RM1.0 billion in capital expenditure for the next three years as it aimed to achieve 65 per cent coverage nationwide by end of 2012.

In 2009, P1 spent around RM400 million in rolling out its WiMAX programme.

Lai said the company hoped to increase its WiMAX coverage in West Malaysia to 45 per cent by year-end from 35 per cent last year.

P1 targets to double its subscriber base this year to 200,000 and has plans to expand WiMAX services to Sabah and Sarawak by the second half of 2010.

The company will also introduce embedded devices this year.

The subsidiary of Green Packet Bhd was awarded a Malaysian WiMAX licence in March 2007. Last year, it secured a licence to deploy WiMAX service in Singapore.

Meanwhile, Lai said P1 would eye for a listing on Bursa Malaysia in two years.

"However, it would depend on market conditions," he said, adding that the decision for listing would be made by Green Packet.

P1 WiMAX represents the first large-scale commercial deployment of mobile WiMAX in Southeast Asia, and the first large-scale deployment of an 802.16e 2.3 gigahertz WiMAX network outside Korea.