The proposed $500-million nationwide subsea cable project involving PLDT Inc., Globe Telecom, Inc. and Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. remains under discussion, with construction costs, potential investment returns and demand still being assessed, a PLDT official said.

"[The proposed project] is still being discussed. Obviously, the underlying demand for that still continues to be there. The Philippines is a punch above its weight in terms of usage from a digital standpoint. So, that will still be needed," PLDT Senior Vice-President and Enterprise Business Head Patricio S. Pineda III told reporters on the sidelines of a forum last week.

In August, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said the three telecommunications companies had proposed a $500-million (about P30.63-billion) nationwide subsea fiber-optic network.

According to Mr. Pineda, the unresolved questions center on economics rather than appetite. "We just have to really figure out the build costs and the ability for that to recover. So, hopefully, the RoI (return of investments) figures do not get so much of a whack around," he said.

He added that demand from enterprises and government agencies would be another important consideration for the proposed project. "The macro part is really much more around the demand, maybe more enterprise usage. Like how soon are companies, public sector able to pull the trigger on their big projects and their spending," Mr. Pineda said.

The proposal calls for laying subsea fiber-optic cables from Batanes to Palawan, with connections extending to the Visayas and Mindanao. The planned network is intended to improve connectivity between the country's islands and expand telecommunications infrastructure in underserved areas. Batanes is the Philippines' northernmost province, meaning the proposed network would span the archipelago's major island groups — the geography that puts inter-island connectivity and service in underserved areas at the heart of the project's stated purpose.

Mr. Pineda noted that economic uncertainty could weigh on investment decisions, even as demand for digital transformation may encourage companies to proceed with their projects. "If conditions are uncertain, or there are a lot of risks, there is a lot of softness in the economy and more control of spending. At the same time, when digital transformation and certain things become strong business cases, there's a lot of incentive as well to pull the trigger. So, that you're ready when the economy begins to pick up," he said.

Until that assessment concludes, the practical markers to watch are the ones Mr. Pineda identified: how build-cost and return assumptions firm up, whether enterprise and public sector spending gains pace, and how economic conditions evolve in the meantime.

VITRO IPO

Separately, Mr. Pineda said PLDT remains prepared to pursue the planned initial public offering (IPO) of VITRO REIT, Inc. once market conditions become favorable.

In October, PLDT announced that it had deferred the proposed IPO to 2027, citing prevailing market conditions and rising interest rates.

"But we're hoping for, again, a favorable correction hopefully entering the year. But we'll target the best window to do it. Right now, I think the earliest will be in the first quarter of 2027," he said.

VITRO REIT is the proposed real estate investment trust vehicle for PLDT's data center assets. VITRO, the data center business of PLDT subsidiary ePLDT, Inc., operates 11 data centers nationwide with a combined capacity of nearly 100 megawatts. Timing here, as with the subsea project, rests on external signals: the market conditions and rising interest rates cited for the October deferral are the factors to monitor ahead of the possible first-quarter 2027 window.

Enterprise Demand and Peso Impact

Meanwhile, Mr. Pineda said demand for PLDT's enterprise services remained strong, including interest from hyperscalers, despite economic uncertainty. "All of them (having strong demand). I think it is already in the year-around hyperscalers having interest here in the region. We are still very bullish," he said.

He said the weaker peso could have mixed effects on the company's enterprise business, benefiting dollar-denominated revenues while increasing the cost of imported equipment for connectivity and information and communications technology projects. "We have a lot of dollar-denominated revenues, so I think that is upside because we get to report that, and we get the benefit of that. So, I think the big part could be our projects, connectivity-wise and ICT where we are importing," Mr. Pineda said.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.

This story was originally reported by Ashley Erika O. Jose and published by BusinessWorld on November 8, 2026: $500-M subsea cable plan still under discussion — PLDT