This report contains:

• Tower counts for the entire APAC market
• Major towerco transactions in the APAC market back to 2011
• Profiles of 17 key markets in the APAC tower market

2024 closes with activity continuing across Asia. February’s announcement that PhilTower was merging with MIDC was approved in September, and quickly followed with rumours that Macquarie was looking to monetise its stake in the company, possibly valuing the new entity at US$700mn to US$800mn. The creation of the JV is one of the first examples of towerco consolidation in The Philippines and is unlocking new investment in the market.

Earlier in January, Bangladeshi towerco Summit Towers snapped up just over 2,000 towers from VEON-owned Banglalink in a sale and leaseback deal worth US$100mn. The telecom market there faced disruption following a coup, but new government ministers and regulators have been appointed and reassured investors.

Japan was a major focus for industry action for the first time. In August 2024, JTOWER accepted an acquisition offer from digital infrastructure investor DigitalBridge. The move has seen its MNO investors cash out and a new and well-established international investor link up with the team that brought infrastructure sharing to Japan.

Of course, no summary would be complete without remarking on the turnaround in India. 2023 ended with Ascend Telecom consolidating Tower Vision, and we end the year with news that a consortia of international investors plan to invest in the towerco. The long-awaited completion of the sale of American Towers sites there to Brookfield ends a period of disruption. Vi is now even planning to roll out 5G in early 2025, a sign of a return to health from one of India’s most troubled operators.

In Malaysia, the government has announced a second wholesale network will be created by U Mobile. Malaysia’s smallest mobile operator will be responsible for rolling out a competitive 5G open access network which should drive lease-up for existing sites and potentially require U Mobile to bring its small stock of sites to market.

Elsewhere in Asia, smaller deals have also been reported, with Global Tower Corporation in Cambodia raising millions of dollars for rural rollout. But the attention of the industry now turns to two major growth areas.

Firstly, the transformation of digital infrastructure networks is creating new opportunities for towercos to add value. To continue to merely provide traditional steel and grass services is no longer enough: energy, in-building, private networks and more are essential new services for towercos to serve their MNO customers.

And secondly, 600,000 telecom towers remain in MNO hands in just four markets: Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and India. How these sites come to market over the next few years will offer a major growth opportunity for the industry, if deals can be struck.