TDC to wire up KLCC It targets to connect 300 buildings in city centre by year-end

Tuesday September 14, 2010

By B.K. SIDHU
bksidhu@thestar.com.my

SHAH ALAM: After wiring up several blocks of buildings in Kuala Lumpur’s Mont Kiara, Time dotCom Bhd (TDC) now wants to connect 300 buildings in the KL City Centre area before the year is out.

“We are looking to add 1,000 buildings by the end of next year,” said TDC chief executive officer Afzal Abdul Rahim.

With an additional 300 buildings to the 90 at Mont Kiara, TDC would provide hundreds of residential and commercial units access to fibre optic with transmission speeds of 1 megabit per second (Mbps) to 50Mbps. TDC’s network is capable of boosting speed to 100Mbps with no additional capital expenditure (capex) required.

Afzal Abdul Rahim...`The challenge forward is growth.’

But the challenge for TDC is speed in wiring up the buildings.

“One of the biggest hurdles we face in our network expansion is dealing with the local councils. Things can slow down for us if the approvals are not in place for us to dig and lay fibre (optic) in the ground,” Afzal said.

TDC is one of two major players with a fibre optic network in the country, the other being the incumbent Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM). Other players such as Maxis Communications Bhd, Jalenas Sdn Bhd and newcomer Vasseti Bhd are also hoping to take a bite of the fibre optic business but they are still building their networks.

Afzal came on board TDC in late 2008 and the turnaround he embarked on at the company is now complete.

TDC recently reported its fifth quarter of profits, earning RM22.98mil in net profit for the second quarter ended June 30 as revenue improved 22.5% to RM83.17mil from RM67.89mil a year earlier.

Cash balances stood at RM199mil as at June 30.

“We have shifted from being a loss-making company to a sustainable one that has reported five consecutive quarters of profit. The challenge forward is growth.

“We cannot be slipping into the red. We are doing far better than in the past. A decade ago, our annual revenue was RM6mil, now it is RM300mil and we are looking at RM1bil in the future,” said Afzal.

He expects TDC’s third quarter financial results to be better than the second quarter as the expansion continues.

According to an analyst, TDC is likely to benefit from the recent reduction in interconnect rates in Malaysia.

“It is small but making an impact in the market. TM’s revenue could be vulnerable to rivalry from TDC and this could increase as TDC expands its network and fine-tunes its strategy.
“The mobile operators should benefit from TDC’s expansion as competition in wholesale leased lines should lower their network costs and allow better geographical coverage,” the analyst said in a report.

In terms of market share. Afzal said TDC had gained ground in all the areas that its services were available even though it was on a head-on battle with the incumbent.
“We are adding market share at about one percentage point every month in these areas and that gives us about 18% market share now. We would like to capture between 20% and 25% market share,” Afzal said. TDC spent RM120mil in capex last year and has the same capex this year which it plans to fund internally.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/9/14/business/7029081&sec=business

TM decides to sell Measat shares for RM252.1mil

TM decides to sell Measat shares for RM252.1mil

U Mobile offers attractive broadband plans

Published: 2010/09/06

U Mobile Sdn Bhd is offering a special promotion, only in Klang Valley, for U Broadband plans that start from as low as RM20 per month.

In a statement today, U Mobile said during the promotional period, starting today till Oct 31, 2010, all new sign-ups for UB40 and UB68 plans would be offered a RM20 rebate for the first five months.

"The subscribers will only be required to pay RM20 per month for UB40 and RM48 for UB68.

"The subscribers will also be given a free modem and there will be no contract attached. This will give them a freedom of choice without being tied down to long contract," it said.

U Mobile said UB68 subscribers would also enjoy an unlimited data allowance subject to fair usage policy and data transfer speed of up to 3.6 megabit per second.

Its chief executive officer, Dr Kaizad Heerjee, said the promotion was in line with the government's plan under the National Broadband Initiative to achieve 50 per cent household broadband penetration by year-end.

"We believe our broadband package is attractive to the consumers and will eventually help boost the broadband take-up rate," he said. -- Bernama

http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100906160651/Article/index_html

TM agrees to dispose of stake in MEASAT

Published: 2010/09/06

Telekom Malaysia (TM) has accepted the conditional take-over offer from MEASAT Global Network Systems Sdn Bhd to acquire TM's entire 15.39 per cent stake in MEASAT Global Bhd (MEASAT) for RM4.20 per share.

"The TM Board after due deliberation wishes to announce the company today accepted the offer and shall dispose its stake in MEASAT vide the acceptance of the offer," said TM in a filing to Bursa Malaysia Securities today.

It said the RM4.20 offer price represents a 40 sen premium or 10.53 per cent to the last traded market price of MEASAT shares on July 27, being the last full trading day for MEASAT shares before the date of notice of the offer on July 28.

The gross proceeds to be received from the disposal of RM252.101 million will be used for working capital requirements of the TM Group.

"The disposal provides an opportunity for TM to monetise its investment and will contribute positively to the earnings of the TM Group for the financial yead ending Dec 31, 2010," it said.

This exercise is not subject to approval of any authorities or TM's shareholders, it added.

MEASAT was incorporated under the name of Malayan Tobacco Company Limited in 1956 but later due to a reverse take-over exercise by MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn Bhd in 2002, the company changed its name to MEASAT Global Bhd to reflect the core business of MEASAT Group as the owner of Malaysia''s sole licensed regional satellite system. -- Bernama

Read more: TM agrees to dispose of stake in MEASAT http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100906202314/Article/index_html#ixzz0ykuTICK2

Axiata rings up RM576.8m net profit in 2nd quarter

By Jeeva Arulampalam

Published: 2010/08/26



The mobile phone group plans to pay dividends of at least 30 per cent of its net profit starting next year and the ratio is due to rise over time.




Axiata Group Bhd (6888), a mobile phone group, posted a net profit growth of 9.5 per cent to RM576.82 million for its second quarter due to stronger growth in its operating companies locally and abroad.



The group also plans to pay dividends of at least 30 per cent of its net profit starting next year and the ratio is due to rise over time.



This will depend on its cashflow and be determined by business prospects and capital requirements.



Axiata president and group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Jamaludin Ibrahim said yesterday that he expects revenue growth for the second half of the year to be slower due to tougher competition.

The group has a controlling interests in mobile operators in Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Cambodia.



Jamaludin told reporters during the company's half-year results briefing yesterday in Kuala Lumpur that Axiata was on track to meet its full-year revenue growth target of 12.1 per cent.



The group also hopes to achieve growth in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 14.1 per cent and return on invested capital (ROIC) of 10.7 per cent.



For the three-month period to June 30 2010, the group's revenue was up 20 per cent to RM3.85 billion.



EBITDA grew by 38 per cent for the period to RM1.8 billion due to strategic cost initiative programmes implemented last year while EBITDA margin improved 6.3 percentage points to 47 per cent from a year ago.



Its local unit, Celcom Axiata Bhd, saw revenue grow 11 per cent to RM1.7 billion for the three-month period from a year ago as non-voice services went up and mobile broadband surpassed 700,000 customers, contributing 9 per cent to its revenue.



Axiata (Bangladesh) Ltd and Indonesian PT XL Axiata Tbk (XL) saw their revenues rising 37 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively, for the quarter.



For the first half of the year, Axiata's net profit tripled to RM1.5 billion due to better contributions from its mobile operating units and a one-off gain on disposal of XL shares.



Revenue for the six-month period ended June 30 2010 was up 25 per cent to RM7.67 billion.



EBITDA went up 45 per cent in the same period to RM3.5 billion while EBITDA margin improved 6.1 percentage points to 45.5 per cent.



Meanwhile, Jamaludin shot down earlier reports that Axiata was looking to bid for a third-generation mobile licence in Thailand with Thai telecommunications group Samart Corp plc.



A Reuters report last week quoted Samart Corp's chief as saying that Samart and Axiata, through their unit, Samart i-Mobile (SIM), will join the bid.



While Jamaludin acknowledged that Samart was an Axiata affiliate with it owning 19 per cent of the former's shares and 24 per cent of SIM, he said the news that Axiata was joining the bid was untrue.

http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/jaxiat-2/Article/

Maxis Q2 profit hits RM532m

By Goh Thean Eu

Published: 2010/08/31




The quarterly net profit fell 10 per cent, mainly because of a one-off spending in its Fifa 2010 World Cup campaign and handset subsidies.





Maxis Bhd (6012), the country's largest mobile operator, registered a 10 per cent decline in its second quarter net profit, due mainly to a one-off spending in its Fifa 2010 World Cup campaign and handset subsidies.



It also announced a second interim dividend of 8 sen a share, or RM600 million in total, which is more than the company's net profit in the second quarter.



Maxis, controlled by tycoon T. Ananda Krishnan, posted a net profit of RM532 million for the quarter ended June 30 2010, against RM594 million in same quarter last year.



During the quarter, its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) margin fell to 46.9 per cent, from 50.6 per cent in the entire 2009.

However, chief executive officer Sandip Das was not worried as he said the steep decline in the margin was mainly driven by its World Cup sponsorship, which was a one-off event. Moving forward, he expects an uptake in the company's operating margin.



"Overall, I am very happy with the results. We posted a strong, all-rounder performance," said Sandip in a media briefing in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.



Maxis' quarterly revenue rose by more than 3 per cent to RM2.19 billion, from RM2.12 billion in the same period last year, due largely to its larger customer base in both voice and broadband segments.



For the quarter, the company added 280,000 new customers, against Celcom (Axiata) Bhd's and DiGi.Com Bhd's net additions of 215,000 and 157,000 respectively.



Although the company is still in second place in terms of mobile operators' overall broadband market share, Sandip remains confident that the broadband momentum is going strong and it is just a matter of time before it overtakes Celcom in the segment.



During the quarter, Maxis signed up 135,000 new mobile broadband customers to reach 448,000 customers. During the period, Celcom signed up just 72,000 mobile broadband customers to 707,000.



"We have a 53 per cent share of the broadband net adds share (among the top three mobile operators) during the quarter. It further signifies that our efforts in modernising the network and marketing are showing results," said Sandip.



The company also added that its mobile broadband growth story is on track and believes that by end-2012, half of its revenue will come from non-voice services.



Maxis' average revenue per user (Arpu), has remained stable. Its prepaid Arpu declined by about 2 per cent to RM36, while postpaid Arpu increased by 1 per cent to RM103.

http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/maxisq210/Article/index_html

Apple TV dilancar

PERKAKASAN baru Apple TV yang lebih kecil dipamerkan pada sidang akhbar di San Francisco, kelmarin. – AP



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SAN FRANCISCO 2 Sept. – Apple Inc. melancarkan versi Apple TV yang lebih kecil dan lebih murah bagi menyalurkan kandungan dari Internet ke peti televisyen, sekali gus memperhebatkan persaingan dengan Google Inc. dan Microsoft Corp. untuk menguasai segmen hiburan digital di rumah.



Pengasas bersama Apple, Steve Jobs juga melancarkan barisan produk iPod yang dirombak sepenuhnya serta versi terbaru iTune, dengan logo baru yang tidak lagi menggunakan imej CD yang ketinggalan zaman.



Peranti baru Apple TV tersebut, yang digunakan untuk mengakses kandungan dari Internet dan memainkannya pada set televisyen, akan dijual dengan harga AS$99 (RM317). Ia hanya 25 peratus daripada saiz Apple TV asal yang berharga AS$229 (RM733).



Peranti berukuran 10 sentimeter persegi itu membolehkan pengguna menyewa rancangan televisyen dengan hanya AS$0.99 (RM3.17) dan filem dalam jadual tayangan pertama dengan harga AS$4.99 (RM16). Model asal yang membolehkan pengguna membeli rancangan televisyen sahaja tidak mendapat sambutan.



“Pengguna memang takut menyambung sesuatu pada set televisyen mereka, kerana itu pasaran kita akan menjadi sangat terhad melainkan kita dapat menjelaskan mengapa mereka perlu berbuat demikian dan kita memudahkan mereka untuk berbuat demikian,” kata pengarah penyelidikan bagi peranti pengguna di Current Analysis, Avi Greengart.



Perubahan terbesar pada iTunes ialah pengenalan ciri rangkaian sosial yang dikenali sebagai Ping yang membolehkan pengguna mengesyorkan lagu kepada peminat atau rangkaian rakan pilihan mereka.



“Ciri ini umpama Facebook dan Twitter bertemu dengan iTunes. Ia merupakan rangkaian sosial mengenai muzik semata-mata,” kata Jobs pada majlis untuk melancarkan produk-produk tersebut semalam.



Namun bagi wartawan dan pelabur, produk utama pada pelancaran semalam ialah Apple TV yang diperkenalkan oleh Apple pada 2006 tetapi tidak mendapat sambutan yang diharapkan.



Jobs pernah menyebut Apple TV sebagai satu hobi, tetapi menjelaskan syarikat itu kini bersedia untuk bersungguh-sungguh memberi fokus kepada usaha menggabungkan Internet dengan televisyen.



Gabungan itu turut menjadi tumpuan beberapa syarikat teknologi paling kreatif dan paling kukuh di dunia, termasuk Google, Microsoft dan Amazon.com. Inc. – Reuters

http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2010&dt=0903&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Luar_Negara&pg=lu_06.htm