Concerns swell as Thailand’s telco giants prepare for US$7.3b merger
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[BANGKOK] The economic impact from the recent approval of a US$7.3 billion merger between Thailand’s second- and third-largest mobile operators is not likely to be felt immediately, but it bodes poorly for the country’s overall competitive environment, analysts said.
On Oct 20, the five-member board of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) voted 3-2 that the regulator – in this case, NBTC itself – had no authority to decide the fate of the merger between True and DTAC, giving the controversial amalgamation a de facto go-ahead.
Since the merger was announced by Norway’s Telenor (the parent company of DTAC) and Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Group (the parent company of True) in November 2021, it has drawn criticism from consumer protection groups, economists and opposition politicians for creating a duopoly in Thailand’s telco market, which currently includes three main players – DTAC, True and Advanced Info Service (AIS).
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