Mfone affected by baht's power

12 November 2010
Jeremy Mullins
Phnom Penh Post

MFONE faces a “price war” and intense competition among the Kingdom’s nine mobile operators, according to results from parent company Thaicom, released yesterday.

The mobile provider now claims 569,472 Cambodian subscribers, a 30.2 percent decline on 815,363 for the third quarter 2009. Mfonwe was pegged as the third largest provider in Cambodia in statistics from June, with 782,073 active subscribers, according to data complied by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.

Revenues suffered at the provider during the most recent quarter. Thaicom claimed a loss of 102 million baht (US$3.5 million) in the Kingdom, compared with a loss of 25.3 million baht in the same quarter last year. Currency fluctuations in the most recent quarter hit its Cambodian revenues as Mfone reports its domestic revenues in US dollars, which are then converted to baht for reporting statements, Thaicom says.

“The appreciation of the baht [against the dollar] has caused lower revenue from the telephone business in Cambodia,” it said.

But drops in electricity costs and interconnect charges, as well as the baht’s appreciation, had decreased total costs. Thaicom holds 51 percent of Shenington Investments, which operates Mfone.