Axiata, Sinar Mas seek permission for Indonesia telco merger, minister says

JAKARTA: Malaysian conglomerate Axiata Group and Indonesian group PT Sinar Mas have sought permission from the Indonesian government to merge their telco units, the communications minister told Reuters on Wednesday.

Their planned merging of Indonesian units, PT XL Axiata and PT Smartfren Telecom would further consolidate companies in the telecoms sector into just three big players, Budi Arie Setiadi said in an interview.