DoCoMo Eyeing Acquisition in Cambodia

­Japan's DoCoMo has confirmed that it is interesting in buying a mobile network in Cambodia. The country has several operators as possible targets, including Millicom's local subsidiary, Mobitel which the parent company has put up for sale.

However, DoCoMo has not decided to make a bid for Mobitel, which sources have priced at several hundred million dollars, and will consider other M&A targets in Cambodia and political and economic risks, Toshinari Kunieda, senior vice president and managing director of DoCoMo's global business told the Reuters news agency.

"It's like a marriage proposal -- you don't make an offer the day after falling in love at first sight, you look at other potential partners, too," Kunieda told Reuters in an interview on Friday. "But we will date."

Statistics from the Mobile World database shows the Cambodia ended last year with an estimated 3.77 million mobile phone subscribers, representing a population penetration level of 26%. The country has seven active network operators, along with two seemingly dormant license holders.

The Japanese operator is also seeking investments in Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and China. It already owns 26% of India's Tata Teleservices, 30% of Bangladesh's Aktel and 16.5% of Malaysia's U-Mobile.