WorldCom widens Asian offerings despite slump
Thursday February 28, 10:12 AM
sg.news.yahoo.com
SINGAPORE--US-based telephony and data services firm WorldCom Inc is gunning for an Asian expansion amid stiff competition, weak economic conditions and a huge chunk of debt.
Today, the company launched its International Direct Dial (IDD) service in Singapore, and intends to roll out similar services in other Asian countries as soon as the lucrative IDD markets there ease up to foreign players.
WorldCom has operations in 17 Asia-Pacific countries. However, IDD is only being offered in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore as their telecommunication sectors are deregulated, said WorldCom South Asia managing director Mark Russell in an interview.
"We will introduce IDD to the rest of the region in line with their liberalization," Russell said, having identified Asia-Pacific as the company's biggest-growth market.
Russell would not provide financial details but noted that the key South Asian markets include Singapore, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand. He also declined to comment on whether funding will come from profits or via credit line. |
