Business
The Internet service provider secured S$70 million in new funds from Makara Capital, which will be used in part to develop its cloud-based mobility platform.
MyRepublic CEO Malcolm Rodrigues and Makara Capital CEO Ali Ijaz Ahmad (second and third from right).
SINGAPORE: Internet service provider MyRepublic on Wednesday (Nov 22) announced it secured S$70 million in funds from Makara Capital, which it will use to “accelerate” plans to launch mobile services, including in Singapore, “next year”.
MyRepublic CEO Malcolm Rodrigues said during a press briefing announcing the investment that it was initially looking to launch mobiles services in Singapore, via a mobile virtual networking operator (MVNO) model in partnership with a local telco.
But the thinking “shifted” internally, and it now plans to launch mobile services in all four markets it is currently in – Singapore, Australia, Indonesia and New Zealand, he said.
As a result, Mr Rodrigues added, plans to launch its mobile services in Singapore will be held over to the first quarter of next year, while Australia and Indonesia will also have access to these services by the middle of next year.
The company had previously said it would launch mobile services in Singapore later this year, possibly by October.
“We’re testing the platform right now … and we’ll look to be launching soon,” Mr Rodrigues said.
Asked about the mobile plans consumers can expect, the CEO said: “It’s going to be really good … we plan to be really competitive.” He declined to give away more details, saying that these will be revealed in the coming months.
“We don’t compete in price, we compete on value,” he said of the company’s guiding principle, adding that “we know TPG is coming”. TPG won the fourth telco licence over MyRepublic last December.
Mr Rodrigues also said the new funds will go towards building up its consumer and enterprise markets, as well as customer service.
It will also look to expand its regional footprint beyond the four markets it is currently in. The possible markets include Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, and it hopes to enter them “in five years”, the company said.
The S$70 million funding decision was supported by IP ValueLab’s evaluation of MyRepublic’s “strong” intellectual property portfolio, a joint press release said. IP ValueLab is the enterprise engagement arm of the Intellectual Property of Singapore.
