PLDT, Inc. is expecting progress in its talks with partners for its digital innovations unit Voyager Innovations, Inc. in weeks’ time.
PLDT Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters in Makati City on Tuesday it is looking to secure a strategic partnership with an undisclosed number of companies, after its talks with Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. failed in May.
“There are a few initiatives underway on Voyager, so we hope something will happen in the next few weeks,” he said.
While he refused to disclose the names and the number of companies they were talking with, Mr. Pangilinan said the company is based in Asia.
The PLDT chief said last year the company is looking to boost Voyager by getting strategic and non-strategic partners by the first half of 2018 that will help its “capital-hungry” nature.
After not receiving feedback from Tencent when PLDT contacted it to become a strategic partner, Mr. Pangilinan then said the company expected to move forward without a partner for Voyager.
“We’re assuming at least for the moment that we will not have a strategic partner and we will proceed with our own plans with Voyager,” he said in May.
Voyager is targeting 30 million users in its platform by 2020. As of December 2017, it recorded eight million users in PayMaya Philippines, Inc. and Smart Money. The PLDT unit also manages FINTQ, Lendr, and freenet.
The Pangilinan-led company saw a 39% increase in its net income for the first quarter, landing P6.9 billion from only P5 billion in the same period last year. It was driven by a growth in consolidated core income by 13% at P6 billion from P5.33 in 2017.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Denise A. Valdez
