Brazilian telco Tele Norte Leste Participacoes (‘Oi’) will invest 30 billion Brazilian reais (US$18 billion) over the next five years as part of its plan to expand its operations in Brazil and elsewhere. According to a Dow Jones Newswires report, CEO Luiz Eduardo Falco said that around half the budget will be spent on overseas investments with a particular focus on Portuguese-speaking countries and neighboring Latin America territories, adding that the operator is already looking at assets in Argentina and Venezuela. The company is aiming to capture 30 million subscribers outside of Brazil within the next five years, the report cites Falco as stating.

Oi’s domestic ambitions are linked to its acquisition of smaller rival Brasil Telecom, which will see it control around 70 percent of Brazil’s fixed-line market, 18.5 percent of the mobile market and some 40 percent of broadband. However, the deal is on hold pending changes to Brazilian regulations, which currently forbid one group from holding two separate telecoms concessions. According to Wireless Intelligence data, Oi had 17.3 million mobile subscribers at the end of first-quarter 2008 making it the country’s fourth-largest operator. Luiz Eduardo Falco has said previously that Oi is planning to compete more effectively with its three larger competitors, America Movil, Telecom Italia and Telefonica (part owner of Brazil’s Vivo), in Brazil and abroad.