TM Pays Total Dividend Of RM706.5 Million For 2009
KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 (Bernama) -- Telekom Malaysia Bhd ™ on Thursday announced a total dividend of RM706.5 million, or 19.75 sen net dividend per share for its financial year ended December 31, 2009.
Its Chairman, Datuk Halim Shafie said the total dividend comprised a final dividend of 13 sen (less tax 25 per cent) amounting to RM348.8 million, together with the interim dividend of 10 sen (tax exempt) amounting to RM357.7 million distributed in September last year.
"Last year was a challenging one, following intense competition on the broadband market and on the back of a difficult economy," he told reporters after the group's 25th annual general meeting here.
However, he said TM's recently launched High Speed Broadband (HSBB) service, UniFi, had been received positively by the Malaysian public.
He disclosed that it has since signed up over 1,700 customers in four areas namely, Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Bangsar.
"An additional 10,000 would-be subscribers have also registered their interest and are in line for service installation," he said.
TM's Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa said the UniFi would be expanded to a further 18 exchanges nationwide by July, bringing the total number to 22.
The areas include
Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, the Multimedia Super Corridor, Johor, Kedah and Penang.[
By year-end, he said TM was on track to complete 750,000 UniFi home passes and was on schedule, to deliver the promised 1.3 million premises by 2012.
"We're looking at aggressively ramping up the UniFi by the second half of this year," he added.
Asked about the broadband competition between fixed-line and other mobile operators, he said while the latter looked at servicing one client at a time, the former could serve more than one individual within a vincinity.
"Being a fixed line player, we also need some form of wireless connectivity to enhance our services. When customers are nomadic, our plan is to provide hot spots and hot zones, where they can still log on," he explained.
As for developing its own content for the UniFi service, Zamzamzairani said the company was looking at partnering others, rather than doing so on its own.
He however disclosed that TM too had allocated about RM300 million over three years for content development and if an opportunity arose, the telco would review its position on whether to do so, on its own.
-- BERNAMA
May 6 2010, 07:31 AM
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