Individual Task (Name: Ho Tat Peng No.

Matric: A18A0176) ACS4103 L1

1. Pick one Malaysia companies operated internationally

Axiata Group Berhad also known as Axiata, is a Malaysian multinational

telecommunication conglomerate with extensive operations in Asia. It is one of the
largest wireless carriers in Malaysia.

2. Identify the country

Axiata Group Bhd is a major regional telecommunication service provider with a

presence in most ASEAN countries. The group operates in three major business
segments: digital telecommunication, digital businesses and infrastructure. These
segments involve various subsidiaries and sub-subsidiaries located in different
countries. The group operates in 11 countries (in ASEAN: Malaysia, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand; in South Asia: Bangladesh, India, Nepal,
Sri Lanka and Pakistan).

3. Explain the internationalization process of its company when expand the

business abroad.

Axiata’s internationalization is connected with the group’s objective to become a leading

telecommunication player in Asia. The group continuously looks for opportunities to
invest abroad to expand its market as a mobile operator, into new telecommunication-
related ventures and to expand the capacities of its existing operations. The attractive
market conditions (economic growth, market size and digital development) and
opportunities in ASEAN and in South Asia drive Axiata’s choices of investment location.

The group has also been expanding by acquiring strategic assets that add value to the
group’s operations and provide quick access to markets, including skill sets. For
instance, Acknowledge Asia Pacific (a sub-subsidiary) acquired Komli’s (India) South-
East Asia business operations in 2015 to quickly scale up its presence and operations in
South-East Asia. Komli’s geographical spread and diversified revenue streams add
value to Axiata’s operations. In the same year, Axiata acquired a 75 per cent stake in
Myanmar Tower Co from Yoma Strategic (Myanmar), which owns 1,250 towers in that
country. The acquisition enabled Axiata to expand and penetrate the largely untapped
Myanmar market, which then had a low mobile penetration rate. It boosted edotco’s
tower assets by 9 per cent in 2015.

For joint ventures, strong local partners are an important consideration in the decision to
enter a market. Strategic alliances with local partners have influenced Axiata to venture
abroad. For instance, Axiata Digital Services has a strategic partnership investment with
BIMA, a Swedish microinsurance company. An investment deal in 2017 made Axiata a
shareholder and opened up new high-growth markets across Asia to Axiata, as BIMA
has a presence in 16 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia, and 277 million
customers. The investment made Axiata a shareholder and deepened its relationship
with BIMA in offering insurance services to underserved families in the region.

Dialog Axiata PLC (Sri Lanka) is looking for entering into foreign market. It can use
either Joint venture strategy or direct investment strategy to enter into international
market. joint venture opportunity since the mobile penetration in the market is
comparably lower than total population. Therefore, it is recognized that there is no
significant impact over Dialog by entering joint venture agreement. In recent Maldives
government policies, it is recognized that it always trying to attract direct foreign
investments to Maldives. For that they provide tax concession to business activities.
Since company is having appropriate fund levels and knowledge Dialog Axiata PLC can
select direct investments as its entry strategy.

Another investment motivation was to expand into complementary businesses that

support demand for Axiata’s mobile broadband operation through increased data usage
by customers such as those of Yonder Music and digital financial services. The Axiata
Group has also entered online marketplaces, with Elevenia in Indonesia and 11Street in
Malaysia, and made significant inroads in mobile money with five mobile payment
applications in five countries.

4. Possible challenge and issues.

The challenge for Axiata in strategic and investment is keeping pace with changing
consumer expectations and competitive pricing has become a common challenge for
Group across their markets.

For the challenge, Axiata strives for market leadership and for continued competitive
advantage, Axiata will need to able to invest in new technologies, upgrades and
equipment. Lagging deployment of new technologies may result in the group falling
behind its competitors

For operational part, Telecoms industry is dominated by a handful of vendors, and a loss
of supply due to a key vendor suffering business failure may significantly affect to their
core business and operations. Also, the global COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent
issuance of restricted movement orders could impact various aspects of our operations
and business activities, and Axiata’s ability to achieve its business goals and targets

5. Strategy to overcome

The challenge for Axiata to overcome in strategic and investment is post-acquisition

transition teams to ensure implementation of organisational, cultural and mindset
changes. Next, closely monitors competitive landscape, to make appropriate technology
and network investments.

The strategy for overcome the challenge, Axiata are need to closely studying new
technological advancements, especially 5G, whilst crafting the future network strategy.

The strategy for Axiata overcome the issue in operational is Axiata Procurement Centre
manages risks, monitors performance and develops new relationships with vendors to
reduce dependencies. Also, Axiata conducted COVID-19 Preparedness Process based
on BCM Framework, to implement an integrated Pandemic Plan that addresses risk
points across all aspects of their operations.