The Celcom-SKT Connection

Wire

The Celcom-SKT Connection

Celcom and SK Planet teams up to tackle the e-commerce sector.

Dato’ Sri Shazalli Ramly, Chief Executive Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad (third from left) shaking hands with Jinwoo So, Chief Executive Officer of SK Planet (second from left), marking the agreement to form a joint venture company called Celcom Planet. — (Second from left) Jinwoo So, Chief Executive Officer of SK and Shazalli all smiles after signing the agreement to form a joint venture company.

As online business opportunities in Malaysia increase, many companies are currently in the midst of vying for a slice of the ever growing pie. As telcos are intricately linked to e-commerce, it seemed appropriate for local players to jump in. Claiming first mover advantage is Celcom as it formed a joint venture with Korean web retail platform, SK Planet, to quickly tap onto this thriving market.

This two-party collaboration, dubbed Celcom Planet, is formed for the purpose of exploring, seeking, and pursuing e-commerce business opportunities in Malaysia. The new entity is expected to launch an optimized Web-based mall in 2H 2015.

Hoseok Kim, Chief Executive Officer of Celcom Planet; Karan Henrik Ponnudurai, Chief Digital Services Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad; Jinwoo So, Chief Executive Officer of SK Planet; Dato’ Sri Shazalli Ramly, Chief Executive Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad; and JH Kah, Head of SK Planet International during the signing ceremony. — (Second from left) Hoseok Kim, Chief Executive Officer of Celcom Planet; Karan Henrik Ponnudurai, Chief Digital Services Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad; Jinwoo So, Chief Executive Officer of SK Planet; and Shazalli; and JH Kah, Head of SK Planet International are set to rock the e-commerce space.

Currently, SK Planet, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SK Telecom, has served close to over 30 million consumers and has a Gross Merchandise Value of US$5 billion in 2013. This is achievable in part due to 11st.co.kr, one of the leading e-commerce brands for the open markets in Korea.

“We strongly believe that this initiative can spearhead Celcom’s advancement in the digital space as SK Planet, which is part of Korea’s big telcos, SK Telecom, has successfully ventured into the e-commerce domain and now possess a strong background in this field. By leveraging on SK Planet’s platform and operations know-how, which will be coupled with Celcom’s experience and knowledge of the local market, we are confident that this collaboration will be very successful,” says Dato’ Sri Shazalli, Chief Executive Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad.