Major telecom operators Total Access Communication Plc (DTAC) and True Corporation Plc are now on a path towards a merger to become the biggest mobile carrier in Thailand in terms of total subscribers.
DTAC and True have mobile subscriber bases of 19.3 million and 32 million respectively. If the merger goes ahead, the new entity will have more subscribers than Advanced Info Service (AIS), Thailand's largest mobile carrier, which has 43.7 million subscribers.
On Monday, both companies notified the Stock Exchange of Thailand saying they will "explore the feasibility of, and carry out required steps to implement, the potential amalgamation" of the two companies.
DTAC's parent company, Norway's Telenor group, and True's Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding for an equal partnership in forming a new merged firm. Both companies said the entity will apply to be listed on the SET.
Suphachai Chearavanont, chief executive of CP and chairman of the board of True Corporation, said the group's foray into the tech sector is in line with the Thailand 4.0 strategy.
Meanwhile, Jorgen A Rostrup, executive vice president of Telenor Group and head of Telenor Asia, said the two parties aim to have the merger process formally up and running by the first quarter of next year.
The new firm also intends to experiment with venture capital, with plans to invest US$100-200 million (3.3-6.6 billion baht) in promising digital startups.
