Globe is spending $500 million for capital expenditures this year versus last year's actual disbursement of $430 million, said its chief finance officer Albert De Larrazabal.
"There was almost a carry-over of $70 million from last year because actual spending was at $430 million. The mix as to where the capex allocation went will be different this year," he said.
Of the $500 million, $180 million will go to the expansion of the telco firm's 3G (third generation) broadband network, $160 million for 2G, $90 million for investments in cable facility, $30 million for corporate expenses and the rest will go to its enterprise unit Globe Business.
De Larrazabal said that aside from improving network quality and availability, Globe will also work on strengthening its back-end systems and delivery platforms to support more aggressive offers.
Globe has 26.5 million mobile phone subscribers against its rival PLDT's 45.6 million and third-ranked Digitel's 14 million.
PLDT is acquiring Digitel in a deal valued at a about P74 billion. Aside from increasing its market share, PLDT said the deal will enable it to save on the cost of expanding its broadband services.
Despite this, Globe has said it would stick to its strategy and "defend and grow our market share."
De Larrazabal said the company would fund its capex through a combination of internal cash and borrowings.
Globe earlier signed a P7-billion loan facility with Banco de Oro and has no plans to tap more debt.
"We are basically done. We’ve covered everything. So, there are no plans at this point for another fund raising," he noted.
International cable gateway
Meanwhile, Globe is increasing the budget for its cable landing facility from $60 million to $90 million to fund the construction of the station. The company is involved in the Southeast Asia Japan Cable (SJC) system.
The facility, which will be operational by the second half of 2013, will link Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines and Japan with onward connectivity to the US, providing customers faster and better Internet experience.
Ooi Seng Keat, chairman of the SJC executive committee, said "the SJC will enable members of the consortium to meet the growing demands of the region, not just for increased Internet usage, but bandwidth intensive applications such as Internet TV, games and enterprise data exchange."
Globe Business head Gil Genio, for his part, said the facility will support the demand for broadband services in the Philippines.
"There is continued explosive growth in broadband both on the consumer and business side. This is one easy way to continue fueling the broadband penetration. If we stop making investment, outsourcing and off-shoring and other businesses will grind to a halt," he said.
