Mfone’s towers are a hard sell

Nearly a decade ago, Meng Chor inherited a rooftop rental agreement with a telecommunications firm after buying a property on Mao Tse Toung Boulevard.

For $300 a month over a 10-year lease, the contract allowed the company that later became Mfone to keep the cell tower on top of his building. The tower is one of more than 1,000 across the country, most located in the provinces. …

Those with rented rooftops are a microcosm of the Mfone case. With creditors lying in wait for more than $160 million in dues, the challenge for Mfone bankruptcy administrator Ouk Ry is finding an interested party to purchase the towers, one of the failed telco’s most expensive assets. Asked about the value of the towers, Ry said it’s “what the market determines”.

On the one hand, existing telecommunications companies don’t need the added infrastructure because they have their own, said Kevin Der Arslanian, an analyst at China Market Research group.

“Towers sit side by side, and buying back most towers serves no purpose to the other operators,” he said. …

Their individual claims pale in comparison to Mfone’s largest single creditor, Chinese telco provider Huawei, which is claiming $65 million.

Ry, the administrator, said that leaseholders had initially been notified about the process after the bankruptcy and via announcements in the local press. With over 1,000 creditors, varying from scratchcard sellers and the rooftop owners to large technology providers like Huawei, a nine-member panel has been established to represent all claimants at creditor meetings. …

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/mfones-towers-are-hard-sell