Telkom’s Fiber Gamble: Jakarta’s Telecom Giant Scraps IPO Plans in Favor of the Singtel Play

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) Tbk is doubling down on a proven playbook. The state-controlled telecommunications titan has abandoned plans for an initial public offering of its infrastructure unit, PT Telkom Infrastruktur Indonesia—branded as InfraNexia—in favor of a strategic partnership model. The move is a direct attempt to replicate the decades-long success of Telkomsel’s collaboration with Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (Singtel).

The strategic pivot was confirmed by Telkom CEO Dian Siswarini during a briefing in Jakarta on Friday evening. By choosing a partner over a public listing, Telkom is signaling that it values operational "skin in the game" over the immediate liquidity of the equity markets.

The decision underscores a broader shift in how Indonesia’s state-owned enterprises manage high-growth infrastructure assets. In a volatile market, fiber-optic networks—the literal nervous system of the digital economy—are often undervalued by retail investors. By seeking a strategic peer, Telkom hopes to import the technical discipline and global best practices that helped its mobile subsidiary, Telkomsel, dominate the Indonesian market for a quarter-century.

“We opted for a strategic partner because such investors enter directly into the operations, bringing discipline, good corporate governance, and cutting-edge technology,” Siswarini said. She noted that an IPO in the current economic climate would likely fail to capture the true valuation of InfraNexia’s vast fiber footprint.

The timeline for this courtship is deliberate. Telkom intends to finalize the consolidation of fiber assets currently scattered across various subsidiaries under the umbrella of Danantara—Indonesia's newly formed "Super Holding" or sovereign wealth fund intended to centralize state assets. Only after this consolidation is complete, likely in 2027, will Telkom name its new partner.

InfraNexia was birthed from a December 2025 spin-off, a maneuver designed to unbundle Telkom’s wholesale fiber connectivity. The first phase of this transaction was valued at approximately $2.28 billion (Rp 35.8 trillion). By the time the second phase concludes in 2026, InfraNexia will control more than 50% of Telkom’s total infrastructure, spanning the backbone and access networks across the archipelago.

Budi Satria Dharma Purba, Telkom’s Director of Wholesale and International Service, argued that the fiber business in regions like Java, Sumatra, and Kalimantan has become a localized arms race. “We want to leverage the assets we’ve built to their fullest extent,” Purba said. “Through a strategic partner, InfraNexia can become more agile and competitive. A strategic investor isn't passive; they oversee the operation directly, ensuring efficiency and higher network utilization.”

The benchmark for this ambition remains the 2001 entry of Singtel into Telkomsel. Originally holding a 35% stake, Singtel’s involvement provided the operational rigors that turned Telkomsel into the "cash cow" of the group, currently contributing between 70% and 80% of Telkom's total profit. While Singtel’s stake recently diluted to 30.1% following the integration of the IndiHome broadband service, the partnership remains the gold standard for cross-border telecom cooperation in Southeast Asia.

As Telkom moves to position InfraNexia as its next great profit engine, the company is betting that a deep-pocketed, technically savvy partner will be more valuable than the whims of the Jakarta Stock Exchange.