KUALA LUMPUR (April 25): Integrated telecommunications company Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) has committed to expanding its fibre network to an additional six million premises by the end of 2022 under the National Digital Network (Jendela), according to its chairman Tan Sri Mohammed Azlan Hashim in TM's 2021 integrated annual report filed to Bursa Malaysia on Monday (April 25).
The chairman said this is part of TM's focus on helping the country rebuild and recover from the pandemic in the coming years, and the main measure to achieve this is by intensifying its national digitalisation efforts.
“We will also work with Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) to improve quality access to 5G and establish TM as the preferred fibre provider,” he said in the “Chairman’s Statement” of the annual report.
Prior to this, TM on April 14 announced that it has signed an agreement with DNB relating to their RM2 billion deal on 5G service, with the service agreement following the term sheet signed by the two parties on Dec 16 last year.
TM's chief network officer Mohamed Tajul Mohamed Sultan was reported on April 8 saying that the telco’s fibre network expansion to improve the country’s broadband coverage and quality has covered 5.9 million premises as of the first quarter of this year.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Azlan also noted that TM will leverage its position as the sole Malaysian cloud service provider (CSP) to build and manage hybrid cloud services, further empowering businesses, industries and public sector to digitalise.
He said TM will strengthen the country’s global connectivity and partnership ecosystem with international telcos, content partners and hyperscalers, to successfully position Malaysia as a bespoke digital hub for the Asean region.
“While making great strides in digitalising the nation, TM's environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments remain in focus. The group will execute its sustainability initiatives in phases to progressively meet its ESG target across various timeframes.
“The most challenging yet exciting is TM's net-zero emissions target by 2050, which will be achieved through energy optimisation and renewable energy,” he said.
Also in the 2021 Annual Report, TM managing director and group chief executive officer (GCEO) Imri Mokhtar said the company has set ambitious sustainability targets to track its near to long-term sustainability performance.
These targets range from socio-economic contributions, such as providing at least 70% of premises with high-speed internet by 2025, to becoming net-zero carbon by 2060, he added.
Imri, in the “GCEO’s Statement”, also concurred that the group’s main focus for 2022 onwards is to support the government’s effort to rebuild the nation post-pandemic as the country gears itself to seize opportunities in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“Although Malaysia is on a path of recovery, we remain cautiously optimistic as the economy is susceptible to the emergence of new variants and other social and climate change challenges that may deter its progress.
“The telecommunications industry is moving from infrastructure-based competition to a more service-based competition. Connectivity services will also be increasingly commoditised, where competition has progressed beyond infrastructure,” he said.
Imri added that TM's revenue growth is expected to remain intact, in line with the group’s market guidance, which is between low to middle single-digit growth, while earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) is projected to be more than RM1.8 billion.
This, he said, would be driven by TM's three lines of business, namely unifi, TM One and TM Wholesale.
“We also expect to invest between 14% to 18% of our revenue this year on capital expenditure (capex), reflecting our continued commitment to investing in growth areas, capacity-building, as well as to enhance customer experience,” said Imri.
Shares in TM finished 11 sen or 2.24% lower to RM4.79, giving it a market value of RM18.08 billion.