ISAT - Records a bump in subs

ISAT - Records a bump in subs Indosat Ooredoo (ISAT) books additions of subscribers to nearly 100mn as of September '23 attributed to expansion to Eastern Indonesia. The company has been focused on increasing its presence in West and East Nusa Tenggara whom 85-88% being covered by ISAT's network. Following the expansion, ISAT is planning to push distribution channels in the areas as well as SIM card sales. (Source: Kontan) Comment: The company's expansion to Eastern Indonesia should bring more opportunities for growth upside in the future given its lower competition in the areasc compared to Java and relatively untapped market. Nevertheless, such strategy may put ISAT head-to-head with Telkomsel whose heavy presence in the underserved market, thus it may impact to customer acquisition costs. In addition, the company's Eastern Indonesia expansion has started to reflect in a bump in marketing costs in 9M23 as the company revamps distribution channels, local partners, and ads in the areas.