Four great global telecom companies

Telecommunications will be a growth industry for years to come. While this is good news for the industry as a whole, some companies are poised for explosive growth. Three such companies are outside North America. The good news is that you can buy these stocks easily through your broker on the New York Stock Exchange.

Alcatel Alsthom (NYSE: ALA, $24) is a French telecommunications company. The company was restructured last year and, as a result, orders have been increasing furiously in different divisions of the company: satellite (90%), transmission (62%) and infrastructure (50%). While the PE ratio of the company is a high 32, its restructuring looks highly promising. The company is trading at an attractive 2.5 times its book value.

Nokia (NYSE: NOK.A, $65) is a Scandinavian company that is trading at a reasonable PE ratio of 17. It has sold off all its non-telecom assets and has become a leader in wireless telecommunications. It has great potential to appreciate in the next 12 months.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone (NYSE: PHI, $54) is a monopoly in a country where the telephone penetration is only 2.1%, one of the lowest in the far east. Over the last two years its domestic revenue has grown by 20%, and phone rates are expected to rise by 50%. The company is controlling its costs and is trading at a PE ratio of 15. Plenty of room to grow and prosper.

Telebrasil (NYSE: TBR, $123), a Brazilian giant, is the eighth largest telecom company in the world. Brazil has only nine telephone lines per 100 people and a growth rate of at least 5% is predicted for several years to come. Its PE ratio is a low 12.8 and it is trading at an unbelievable 1.2 times its book value. Telebrasil stock is cheap and is expected to rise in the coming months.

This basket of four telephone companies offers exceptional potential for growth, especially if you are a global investor.