Mharicar Castillo-Reyes (Asticom)
The Asticom Group of Companies, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe Group, is looking at entering into strategic partnerships, joint ventures, and acquisitions to grow and expand its portfolio of businesses in the Philippines.
Asticom president and CEO, Mharicar Castillo-Reyes, said the specialist technology provider is currently in talks with several parties who have “raised interest” but emphasised that they are not interested in simply having a partner investor.
“We’re making sure that we find the right strategic partners that will help us grow the business and add value to the solutions we offer to address the needs of our customers,” she explained. Reyes added that partnerships across the different companies under Asticom are a possibility as well.
Asticom’s subsidiary Fiber Infrastructure and Network Services (FINSI), a provider of engineering and enablement services, are also open to joint ventures and acquisitions.
“We’re in discussion with several companies for joint ventures," said Marc Kerveillant, general manager of FINSI. "Our main goal is to increase our capabilities, grow the business, and eventually, create a connected nation."
To build a team of people and teams to deploy fibre and have a nationwide presence, Kerveillant highlighted FINSI’s desire to collaborate, enter into joint ventures, or acquire companies to increase their product and service offerings to clients.
Another subsidiary, Asti Business Services (ABSI), which offers business process solutions, aims to capture more businesses in the Asia Pacific region, alongside growing its centres of expertise such as digital solutions, HR, finance, customer experience, and corporate services.
"As we continue to grow, we also plan to establish more strategic partnerships both in and outside of the Philippines," noted Mel Tecson, general manager of ABSI. "We want to expand our reach through the relationship we build with our partners as well."
In another division of Asticom, BRAD, an on-demand tech-enabled logistics solutions provider, plans to go nationwide and bring its services to more localities in the Visayan and Mindanao regions.
Richie Santos, general manager of BRAD Warehouse and Logistics Solutions, outlined efforts to “build more partnerships for BRAD, especially with the local businesses in the country", and growing these efforts in other regions.
Additionally, it hopes for opportunities in the e-commerce space in a bid to be a top provider of end-to-end supply chain technology solutions.
