InTouch eyes fintech,says new CEO
INTOUCH HOLDINGS is exploring new business opportunities, including in the financial-technology arena, the group’s new chief executive officer Philip Tan said yesterday.
He added that this could be achieved either through mergers and acquisitions or joint ventures.
When asked how many companies InTouch is in talks with on possible deals, he said the company was exploring “four opportunities”.
“The work is in progress,” he said.
He added that the likely scenario for achieving a deal was through creating a joint venture.
He said that as the new CEO, he was hopeful of wrapping up a deal before the end of this year. However, there is a lot of work to be done and in reality, sometimes in the talks for possible deals, things don’t go as planned.
Tan, 50, born in Malaysia but fluent in Thai, became InTouch president last November 1 and assumed the CEO position on March 31 this year.
The quest for new business in fintech is related to his expertise in finance and banking on payment services. Before coming to InTouch, he was head of retail and consumer banking at Bank of Ayudhya.
He said Thailand had made lot of progress in drafting crucial regulations and strategies for the establishment of a sound e-payment ecosystem.
InTouch’s flagship companies are Advanced Info Service and Thaicom.
Tan said AIS was a well-run company and was in a new investment cycle to create new growth after its recent acquisition of licences on the 1,800- and 900-megahertz spectra.
He said InTouch was a holding company investing in good companies that could give good value to shareholders and offer good solutions to customers. It is a professional and politically neutral company.
