By Yantoultra Ngui
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Southeast Asian cell tower firm EdgePoint Infrastructure is looking to expand its portfolio to over 20,000 towers in two to three years from around 15,000 currently, its chief executive told Reuters.
CEO and co-founder Suresh Sidhu said on Monday that the company, which is backed by U.S.-listed DigitalBridge, would expand in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, markets where it already has a presence.
The company is also open to opportunities in new markets such as Thailand and Vietnam via acquisitions, he added.
“They’re large countries, lots of population, very similar dynamics to Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, young populations, fast growth in data, tech, that sort of sector as well,” he said, referring to Thailand and Vietnam.
Helping drive demand for digital network infrastructure is expansion of 5G services and data consumption in Southeast Asia. The Asian Development Bank has projected the region’s economy will grow by 4.7% this year, with Vietnam and the Philippines expanding by 6.6% and 6.2%, respectively.
Founded in 2020, EdgePoint has more than 15,600 towers in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines and more than 25,200 tenants, according to the company.
In addition to DigitalBridge, EdgePoint is backed by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and International Finance Corporation.
Florida-based DigitalBridge managed $88 billion worth of digital infrastructure assets globally as of end-September, 2024, its website showed.
(Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui; editing by Jason Neely)
