<article>Malaysia&#8217;s Axiata Group Bhd has denied holding any re-merger talks with peer Telekom Malaysia (TM) amid speculation fuelled by a senior Axiata official saying last month that a re-merger &#8220;makes sense&#8221;.</article>

Malaysia&#8217;s Axiata Group Bhd has denied holding any re-merger talks with peer Telekom Malaysia (TM) amid speculation fuelled by a senior Axiata official saying last month that a re-merger &#8220;makes sense&#8221;.
The two telecom companies parted ways in 2008. Axiata president and group CEO Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim told local media on Thursday that instead of a merger, Axiata has decided to focus on collaboration.
&#8220;While both parties would (stand to) gain (from a re-merger), but remember, we de-merged for certain reasons and those reasons are still true until today, we wouldn&#8217;t have de-merged if we know that it wouldn&#8217;t be beneficial for us. In short, frankly I do not think that it will be something that can happen immediately, it is very complex stuff,&#8221; Jamaludin said.
At the end of 2016, the two entered into a collaboration where Axiata would piggyback on TM&#8217;s fixed fibre to homes or HSBB, while TM would share Axiata&#8217;s mobile infrastructure. &#8220;After we completed the agreement the market structure changed again, right now as we speak, it is being renegotiated,&#8221; he said.
Further, Axiata is also considering divesting its stake in India&#8217;s <a style="color: #000080;" href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/india-idea-cellular-gets-board-approval-for-546m-qip-issue-92481/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Idea Cellular Ltd</a> following the mobile operator&#8217;s proposed merger with the India business of Vodafone Group.
&#8220;With the significant dilution of Axiata from where we were — 19 per cent then, now we become 16 per cent, and after Idea-Vodafone merger, we will be less than 10 per cent, our role as strategic partner will, in a way, disappear — not entirely. Because Vodafone will be their strategic partner, so we will become primarily an investment,&#8221; he was quoted as saying in a report by The Edge.
Last year, Axiata also conducted a strategic review of its stake in Singapore&#8217;s M1 Ltd in which it owns 29 per cent.
The telco has a planned capital expenditure for this year at MYR 7.4 billion. It has also said it will invest about MYR 150 million for its digital companies in 2018. Based on key performance indicators (KPI) for the financial year ending December 2018, it expects a 6.3 per cent revenue growth, an Ebitda growth of 5.8 per cent, up to 5.5 per cent return on invested capital and a 5 per cent return on capital employed.
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Axiata said it instead plans to focus on further collaboration with Telekom Malaysia, with which it parted ways in 2008.

Axiata says no ongoing re-merger talks with Telekom Malaysia

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Axiata says no ongoing re-merger talks with Telekom Malaysia

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