Axiata and Sinar Mas seek merger

The 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.

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 tells Reuters.

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.

Bloomberg had previously reported the planned merger to create a US$3.5bil entity, citing sources. Budi said he had no knowledge of the expected value of the prospective new entity.

Executives from both XL Axiata and Smartfren had multiple meetings with Budi during which they mentioned the merger plan. — Reuters