Tuesday, 18 December 2007

QucomsHaps Invests USD 355 Million to Drive Broadband Provisioning in Malaysia

QucomHaps Malaysia Sdn Bhd (QHM)--a subsidiary of QucomHaps Ltd, an Ireland based stratospheric communication infrastructure company-- has lined up three major financing deals amounting to some USD355 million, that will be channeled towards the company’s goal to provide ubiquituous broadband connectivity via High Altitude Platforms (HAPS) using piloted M55 Russian stratospheric aircrafts.

QHM said it will deliver the HAPS service nationwide in Malaysia to key network players within the following mediums: mobile telecommunications companies, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and broadcasting companies.

The three major financing deals are being structured as:

1. A direct equity investment by a Middle East fund amounting to USD65 million, for approximately one-third shareholding stake of QHM – to be concluded by Q1 2008.

2. A direct equity investment by a local state-owned fund amounting to USD30 million – to be concluded by Q1 2008

3. An Islamic Bond Issuance to the amount of USD260 million from a Middle-East fund, entered into at the end of November 2007.

Billy Harkin, CEO of QucomHaps commented that the strong financing appetite received affirms the confidence of significant parties in QucomHaps’ strategic roadmap to realise the world’s first commercial deployment of stratospheric communications technology for instantaneous, nation-wide broadband and broadcast connectivity.

“This public-private partnership will create new jobs and skills development in this region. QHM prefers to rely on competent local human resource for sustainability of its service operations. In the long-term, we are looking at knowledge-transfer for some elements of the maintanence of stratospheric aircrafts in Malaysia,” he says, adding that Malaysia is set to become QucomHaps’ hub within its future plans to extend its services to Indonesia and the neighbouring territories,” Harkin added.

“QHM will carry out a test in the service demonstration to illustrate the wide area coverage of broadcast and broadband connectivity (such as digital broadcast, WIMAX, GSM, 3G voice and data),” shared Harkin.