KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 9): Axiata Group Bhd (KL:AXIATA) is focusing on consolidation in markets where the largest Malaysian telecom company by revenue operates in and monetising some assets, said its top executive.

Market consolidation is “extremely important for getting the right kind of returns” on Axiata’s assets, driving strong operations, market structure improvement and strong cash-flow generations, its group chief executive officer and managing director Vivek Sood said in a televised interview with CNBC.

“Our strategy is… focused on conversion-connectivity play around the five markets where we have, and the consolidation of markets, and being number one or a strong number two player [in] these markets,” he said during CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” programme.

Axiata had recently completed the merger of its unit PT XL Axiata Tbk with PT Smartfren Telecom Tbk and PT Smart Telcom, which created Indonesia’s second-largest mobile network operator by subscribers.

Following recent divestments, the company now controls Malaysia’s largest telco CelcomDigi Bhd (KL:CDB), as well as Dialog Axiata in Sri Lanka, Robi in Bangladesh, and Smart Axiata in Cambodia. Axiata had earlier sold non-core operations and exited some markets, including Myanmar and Nepal.

Axiata’s second strategy revolves around monetisation efforts over the medium term for its digital businesses and infrastructure businesses, Vivek said in the CNBC interview published on Tuesday.

“… we need to continue investing in [the] growth of those assets and be able to give [a] nice, good yield to our shareholders, and to do that, it’s important that we do reduce our leakages as a result of the debt which we [have] at the holding company,” he said.

Axiata has been monetising some of its assets to pare down its massive debt. Apart from selling a stake in tower unit Edotco, the company has also identified its Indonesian broadband provider Link Net, fintech platform Boost and digital analytics company ADA for monetisation.

The deals will present a “very clear proposition for our shareholders that we do operate mobile-converged operations, and also, as a result, able to flow through all the cash we generate from these businesses back to our shareholders as yield, as well as reinvest into adjacent opportunities to get to the full potential of these assets,” he added.