Royal Group denies report that Cellcard seeks investor
Royal Group executives, owners of Cambodia’s leading mobile phone operator Cellcard, vigorously denied the veracity of a London-based media report on Friday that claimed the phone company is looking for investors and wants to sell off its telecommunications towers because it is unable to raise new capital. On Friday, the London-based online magazine TMT Finance, a telecommunications and finance sector trade publication, published an article citing unnamed sources who claimed that “several” private equity parties are looking at possibly acquiring a stake in Cellcard. “Sources said the owners, which include Cambodia’s Royal Group, were once again attempting to sell down part of their stake to a strategic investor…. The company needs capital to invest in its network, but the current lenders (including Bank of China) are now maxed out. CamGSM has restructured its loan agreements and now struggles to service its debt,” the report claimed. CamGSM is Cellcard’s parent company, which is owned by the local conglomerate Royal Group. Royal Group’s chairman is Kith Meng, a close associate of Prime Minister Hun Sen. ... The original TMT report, which was modified later on Friday following a request by Royal Group, goes on to say that ANZ Bank was previously hired to search for buyers “for a majority stake in the whole of the CamGSM business” and that CamGSM is looking at “scaling back” its telecommunications towers by selling some of them off. ... Royal Group’s CFO Mr. Hanna said the article amounted to “mischief making.” ... He [Mr. Hanna] did admit, though, that CamGSM has some debt with the Bank of China. “There’s some debt with the Bank of China. But it’s not dire,” he said. Responding to TMT’s assertion that CamGSM’s lenders were “maxed out,” Mr. Hanna said, “Absolutely not.” ...
Joshua Wilwohl
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/royal-group-denies-report-that-cellcard-seeks-investor-53741/
