Converge ICT Solutions Inc. has trimmed down its capital expenditure (capex) guidance for this year due to a slight delay in the completion of a subsea cable project and payment for data center projects.
For this year, Converge has set a P12 billion to P14 billion capex which is lower than its initially planned P19 billion budget, said Christine Renee Blabagno, Converge deputy chief finance officer.
The company attributed the adjustment in this year’s capex to the delay in the completion of the Bifrost subsea cable project, and the agreed payment milestones with data center partners were moved to next year.
“The subsea cable international (completion) is pushed back to the first quarter of 2025.
The P5 billion allotted for that will come in on the 2025 and that data center is progressing as scheduled but the payment will come in 2025,” Blabagno said.
However, Dennis Anthony Uy, Converge chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder, said the Bifrost subsea cable is only delayed by a quarter which is normal in cable subsea projects.
The Philippines to US cable system is already complete but the Philippines to Singapore segment is slightly delayed and will be completed by the first quarter of next year.
The Bifrost cable system is a trans-Pacific cable system connecting Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines to the West Coast of North America.
The consortium behind Bifrost includes Keppel Midgard Holdings Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation Ltd.; Meta; and PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin), a subsidiary of PT Telkom Indonesia.
Aside from the subsea cable and its data center projects, Converge has partnered with Korean technology firm Naver Cloud Corp. to expand its cloud solution services in the country.
“Our continuous leap to digital calls for advanced solutions that would support a technology-enabled lifestyle in a robust digital environment. We look forward to working with NAVER Cloud to discover ways how we can empower more customers through cutting-edge cloud technologies,” Uy said.
“The Philippines is a high-potential market for cloud and digital transformation business growth, and with the signing of the MOU, we expect to contribute to the digital transformation of the Philippines,” said Yuwon Kim, Naver Cloud CEO.
