Indonesia's XL Loses 1 Million Customers

Indonesia's PT Excelcomindo Pratama (XL) has reported a drop in its subscriber base by around a million customers during the first quarter. The company put this down to a decision to raise the purchase price of its prepay SIM cards.

The company's president director, Hasnul Suhaimi, said the number of subscribers had dropped to 25 million from 26 million in 2008.

"We increased the price of SIM cards to reduce the number of people who buy XL cards for one-time use and then throw them away," Hasnul told The Jakarta Post, adding that this had happened because it was cheaper for customers to buy new SIM cards than to recharge existing ones.

He reiterated that the company still maintains its target of 30 million subscribers by the end of the year.

The company recently announced plans to raise US$400 million in new debt to fund refinancing of its existing liabilities, and may consider a rights issue to fund capital expenditure. The company is controlled by Malaysia's Axiata Group, formerly the mobile division of Telekom Malaysia.

On the web: The Jakarta Post

Posted to the site on 27th April 2009