Philippine telecommunications company DITO CME Holdings Corp. has secured P3.3 billion ($65 million) in new capital through a share subscription agreement with Summit Telco Corp.'s Philippine entity. The board approved the issuance of 3.3 billion shares at P1 per share, providing a significant funding boost for DITO Telecommunity Corp.'s various initiatives.
The funds will be directed towards network expansion, improved access quality, and enhanced user experience, particularly in fixed wireless access 5G and mobile postpaid product offerings. This development follows DITO CME's expansion of its issued shares from 14.04 billion to 16.24 billion earlier this year, through transactions with Summit Telco Corp. and Xterra Ventures Pte. Ltd.
DITO CME Holdings Inc., the third-ranked telco in the Philippines owned by businessman Dennis Uy, raised the funds via private placement with Singapore-registered Summit Telco Holdings Corp. The company sold 3.3 billion new shares at P1 each, following previous transactions including the issuance of 3.88 billion shares to Summit Telco for P3.88 billion and sale of 610 million shares to Xterra Ventures Ptd. Ltd.
These funds, combined with a $3.9-billion loan facility from multinational banks, are expected to offset a $1.3 billion short-term bridge loan and finance DITO Telecom Corp.'s network expansion efforts despite high operating expenses that led to a net loss of P11.24 billion in 2022.
For 2023, the company has allocated lower capital expenditures amounting to P27 billion, compared to last year's P50 billion. Dennis Uy continues as chairman while Ernest Alberto has been appointed as the new CEO of the high-growth telecom unit and Donald Patrick Lim as acting DITO CME president.
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