Li Ka-Shing’s Flagship Bets On Indonesia’s Digital Future With $6 Billion Merger

Li Ka-Shing’s Flagship Bets On Indonesia’s Digital Future With $6 Billion Merger

Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong's richest person, has retired as chairman of CK Hutchison in 2018, but ... [+] continues to serve as senior advisor. CK Hutchison, the flagship company of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, announced that it is merging its Indonesian telecommunications unit with Indonesia's Indosat in a $6 billion deal to accelerate digital efforts in Southeast Asia's biggest market. Hutchison 3 Indonesia will merge with Jakarta-listed Indosat, an affiliate of Qatari telecom operator Ooredoo Group, to create an entity called Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison with a total transaction value of around $6 billion, the two companies said in a joint statement on Thursday. Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison will be the second-largest mobile telecoms company in Indonesia, with an annual revenue of about $3 billion, the statement added. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of this year, subject to shareholders' and regulatory approvals. "Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison will have a critical mass that will enable it to drive network expansion and improvements that will support the [Indonesian] Government's digital agenda and benefit customers and Indonesia as a whole," said Canning Fok, co-managing director of CK Hutchison. "The merger will create a company with the strength and scale to