KKR-backed Malaysian telecom infrastructure group OMS to revisit IPO plan 

By Yantoultra Ngui

SINGAPORE – Malaysian telecom infrastructure and subsea cable services company OMS Group will revisit its plan for an initial public offering in the next few years and is not ruling out a listing on the domestic stock exchange, its top executive said.

OMS shelved its Malaysian IPO plan last year as KKR invested $400 million in the company as part of the global investment firm’s expansion into digital infrastructure in Southeast Asia.

“An IPO is certainly something to consider in the future,” OMS Group’s deputy CEO Richard Sun told Reuters on the sidelines of the Submarine World Networks World 2024 industry conference last week in Singapore.

“As for the listing venue, it is still early days. When the time comes, we will explore the most suitable options including Malaysia,” he said, without giving details.

In June, OMS announced it secured $292.5 million worth of loans from a group of financial institutions including HSBC, E-Sun Commercial Bank and SinoPac, with KKR’s facilitation.

OMS Group will use the capital to expand, including adding newly built vessels by 2029 to its current fleet size of five, Sun said.

It is also growing its interconnect managed services (IMS) or cable landing stations and subsea cable routes business launched five years ago, and expects the business to contribute significantly to its revenue in the next five years, he added.

The company currently has cable landing stations and subsea cable routes business operations in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, according to Sun.

“We’re looking at Vietnam and the Philippines,” Sun added. “Essentially, what we are becoming is a one stop shop solution for connectivity requirements within the Southeast Asia region.”