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Axiata Group Berhad | Annual Report 2016
SHAPING THE FUTURE
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proud to report that our OpCos, Dialog and Robi, are among the first
GSMA members to have made CWI commitments in Sri Lanka and
Bangladesh respectively. We also recognise the importance of sourcing
from local suppliers and each of our OpCos have invested in local vendor
development programmes to stimulate economic growth. In 2016, 41% of
our procurement spend was on local vendors.
As part of our commitment to mitigate climate change through greener
operations, edotco leads the way in regional green operations. As a
Group, we have set ambitious targets of reducing our carbon footprint
in 2018 by 40% from 2013. In 2016, we saw reductions in our carbon
emission of 29% and 25% in Malaysia and Bangladesh respectively.
Axiata’s full Sustainability and National Contribution Report 2016 has
been made available to you together with this Annual Report. The report
highlights our Group-wide sustainability goals, efforts and progress.
UPHOLDING STRONG GOVERNANCE
We continue to adhere to the highest standards of corporate governance,
in the firm belief that it is the basis of a well-managed company which
provides the best long-term returns for our investors and shareholders. Our
efforts have earned us a number of international accolades and awards.
Over the last four years, Axiata has been recognised for upholding the
highest governance and compliance standards at the Malaysian-ASEAN
Corporate Governance Index, Findings and Recognition event organised
by the Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group (MSWG).
GROUP ACHIEVEMENTS AND RECOGNITIONS
In 2016, Axiata’s product innovations and leadership capabilities received
its fair share of international accolades. Across the Group, we received
three awards at the GSMA alone, a significant acknowledgement of
Axiata’s contributions to the global telecommunications industry. Our
Regional CEO for South Asia, Dr Hans Wijayasuriya, was honoured with
the Outstanding Contribution to the Asian Mobile Industry Award at the
GSMA 2016 Mobile Asia Awards. Frost & Sullivan also recognised our
regional OpCos with awards for Ncell, Smart and edotco.
For complete details of our awards, please refer to page 70 of this Annual
Report.
CHANGES IN BOARD COMPOSITION
2016 saw some changes in our Board of Directors as we continued
to strengthen our Board composition. Thus, we bid farewell to Juan
Villalonga Navarro and Dato’ Abdul Rahman Ahmad from the Board. We
thank them for their years of dedicated service and for sharing their
invaluable insights and wisdom, helping us navigate Axiata towards the
leading regional telecommunications group it is today. In their place,
we welcomed two new Directors, Dato’ Mohd Izzaddin Idris and Dato
Dr Nik Ramlah to the Board. We look forward to many years of strong
partnership and contribution from our new Directors in helping Axiata in
its forward moving trajectory.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank our various stakeholders
for their continuous and steadfast support throughout the years. To the
governments and regulators of the countries in which we operate, we
thank you for giving us the opportunity and honour to provide digital and
telecommunication services to approximately 320 million people.
The successes of Axiata would not be possible without the hard work
and unstinting efforts of our employees and the Board extends our
appreciation to each and every Axiata employee across the region. We
remain grateful to our shareholders for their belief in our future growth
strategy, anchored on prudent financial management and a strong
business foundation.
It gives me great pleasure to present to you Axiata’s 2016 Annual Report.
TAN SRI DATO’ AZMAN HJ. MOKHTAR
Chairman
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT