TOT considering development of prime Bangkok land holdings
In need of new sources of revenue, TOT is considering a plan to commercially develop its land plots in prime areas of Phloenchit and Klong Toei.
TOT board chairman Panthep Chamrasromran, said the board is considering setting up a panel to work out the plan and would hire a consultant to appraise the land plots.
With no experience in land development, the state agency needs a consultant to advise it on how to gain maximum benefits from its land assets in these two prime areas, Panthep said. TOT is also considering commercial development of its land plots in the provinces. TOT owns a 17.8-rai plot in Phloenchit and several plots in Klong Toei.
It must move quickly to find new revenue sources by 2014, when it must begin transferring all of its concession revenue to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, the industry regulator. The 2010 Frequency Allocation Law obliges TOT and CAT Telecom to transfer their concession revenue to the regulator within three years of the implementation of the law.
Concession revenue accounts for over half of total revenue at both TOT and CAT. Last year, TOT made total revenue and net profit of Bt73.035 billion and Bt7.742 billion, respectively.
TOT owns the concession of the country’s largest cellular operator, Advanced Info Service, while CAT owns the concessions of TrueMove, Digital Phone Co (DPC) and Total Access Communication (DTAC).
The concessions of TrueMove and DPC will end in 2013, while that of AIS ends in 2015 and DTAC’s in 2018.
TOT and CAT have pinned their hopes on their existing 3G services to serve as their main revenue streams.
In a separate matter, TOT reportedly suffered damages of Bt500 million in the floods. Of the total, Bt200 million comprises damage to its telecom infrastructure, while the rest is from lost business opportunities and its launch of relief measures for flood-hit customers.
