Singapore, 1 June 2023 – SoHo Advisors Pte Ltd (SoHo) APAC’s leading merchant bank is pleased to announce it has been exclusively awarded a Finance Advisory Mandate by Inligo Networks Holdings Pte Ltd, (Inligo) a privately-owned designer, builder and operator of subsea telecommunications networks, to facilitate the remaining funding support for its marquee International Cable project called the Asia Connect Cable (ACC-1).
ACC-1 comprises a minimum 16 fibre pairs and with a 256Tb design capacity, is the largest subsea telecommunications cable to be constructed between Southeast Asia and the US. The cable links Singapore, Batam, Jakarta, Makassar, Dili, Darwin, Manado, Davao, Guam and Los Angeles. The system is expected to be ready for service in 2026.
Inligo Making Milestones
The appointment of SoHo Advisors is yet another major milestone achievement for the project and will support Inligo entering into a binding construction agreement (CIF) with a global subsea cable constructor.
Inligo is in the final stages of a global selection process and expects to appoint the successful cable and systems constructor within the next 3 months.
Inligo has recently accomplished several key milestones, including the appointment of a Chief Financial Officer, a Chief Operating Officer to lead delivery and working closely with AP Telecom in jointly developing a significant pre-sales pipeline.
“SoHo’s appointment as Financial Advisor for Inligo’s process highlights our firm’s deep TelCo domain expertise as well as our strong regional relationships in both the public and private sectors,” said Frank T. Troise SoHo’s Founder & CEO based in Singapore. “This is the first step of many in Inligo’s project pipeline and we are excited about our long-term partnership” he stated.
Frank T. Troise SoHo’s Founder & CEO based in Singapore
Inligo’s ACC-1 system is a trusted subsea network that will provide much needed connectivity, both within and between the rapidly growing economies of Southeast Asia and the United States via an optimised southern cable route through the Java Sea.
“The appointment of SoHo Advisors is yet another example of Inligo’s commitment to partnerships, driving our vision to be the independent network infrastructure provider of choice across the geographic regions where we operate. SoHo’s unparalleled access to regional Asian governments, regulators and private sector leaders alongside the US State Department, US Commerce Department, US Treasury Department the US Department of Defense and regional US Embassies made them the logical choice for our next stage of development.”
Brian Evans, Chief Executive Officer of Inligo Networks
Inligo and SoHo – A Strategic Partnership Moving Forward
Inligo has a portfolio of complimentary subsea and terrestrial cable projects and SoHo is evaluating and with the Inligo Team prioritizing those projects to meet customer requirements. The ACC-1 Cable System will be the first system funded under the agreement and will markedly change the way data is transmitted between Southeast Asia and the USA.
Through the Darwin cable landing, it will also provide much needed optimized routing between Australasia and Asia (Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Timor Leste) bringing Australia digitally closer to its Asian Neighbours.
ENDS