Thai Telcos Participate In $1.7 Billion Spectrum Allocation; Shares Climb

Thailand’s mobile operators on Wednesday will participate in an allocation of three licences on the 700-Megahertz (MHz) spectrum allocation, with a combined value of 53.4 billion baht ($1.71 billion), the companies and the regulator said.

Shares of telecom companies jumped on Wednesday morning.

The country’s largest operator Advanced Info Service Pcl (AIS) and second-ranked True Corp Pcl and Total Access Communication Pcl (DTAC) have submitted applications to participate in the allocation of three blocks on the 700-Mhz spectrum, National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) deputy secretary-general, Korkij Danchaivichit, told Reuters.

The announcements sent True shares up nearly 4%, AIS up 1.5%, while DTAC’s shares slipped 2.4%.

DTAC, owned by Norway’sTelenor , said in a statement it would submit application for one block on the spectrum, valued at 17.8 billion baht ($569.8 million).

DTAC won a spectrum licence for $1.2 billion last year, could now pay in eight more instalments from next year to 2027, instead of the earlier deadline of 2022.―Nasdaq