Globe Telecom
recently raised P10 billion from the issuance of 20 million Series A Non-Voting
Perpetual Preferred shares with a subscription price of P500 per share. The
shares were listed on August 22 at the Philippine Stock Exchange, with Globe
President & CEO Ernest Cu ringing the ceremonial bell to start the day’s
trading. PSE Chairman Jose Pardo said the oversubscription option testifies to
the degree of investor confidence in the company’s future. Pardo further noted Globe
provides the fastest Internet service in the country, citing a report by
OpenSignal which crowdsources cellphone signal strength.
The P10 billion
proceeds will largely go towards capacitizing the Globe network to meet the
growing data requirements in the country, according to Globe Chief Finance
Officer Albert de Larrazabal, who emphasized that data will be a key driver of
growth for the company. Specifically, about 90% of the proceeds will be used
for the expansion of the company’s rollout of LTE (long-term evolution) technology
to meeting growing demand for bandwidth. Globe Telecom is the first
telecommunications company in the country to achieve 100% 3G coverage for its
entire network, providing its customers with high-speed wireless internet
service. By the end of the third quarter, 100% of its network will be equipped
with the more advanced 4G HSPA+ technology.
