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SHAPING THE FUTURE
Axiata Group Berhad | Annual Report 2016
015
2.
Strengthen our Position in Markets Where We Lead
In the markets where we are the number one operator – Sri Lanka,
Nepal and Cambodia – we are committed to out-investing our
competitors as we are confident that this is key to maintaining and
growing our leadership in the new data-led reality.
3.
Increase Investment in Network, IT and Product Innovation
Axiata intends to be a clear number one player in 4G and data network
leadership in selected areas in all of our markets. To achieve this, we will
increase our capex from RM6.1 billion in 2016 to RM6.6 billion in 2017
to fund key technology and network projects to secure the best data
network.
At the same time, we intend to achieve product leadership and lead
the way in innovation, especially for data-led products and services in
the areas of financial services, music, media and entertainment, digital
advertising, and Enterprise and Internet of Things (IoT). Where possible,
we will execute this via collaborative opportunities and commercial
partnerships available in the marketplace, leveraging our Group-wide
scale to rapidly launch new and exciting digital products and services
across our markets.
4.
Prudent Cost Management
To support our more aggressive technology investment, we are
implementing a Group-wide Cost Management programme to improve
efficiency and profitability within a more sustainable cost structure.
Cost optimisation of RM800 million in operational expenditure and
capex savings have been built into our 2017 plan, and we aim to achieve
RM1.5 billion in additional savings in 2018 and 2019. Our cost savings
will be channelled into investments aimed at growing our business for
the long-term.
5.
Explore New Growth Areas
We are at a critical moment in the evolution of our industry and we are
increasingly clear on the strategic growth initiatives we must execute
to maintain our competitiveness and underpin our future. The new
growth areas we are focused on under Axiata 3.0 include:
•
Convergent Networks and Infrastructure
– to deliver dedicated
services into the home, using the most efficient technology be
it fixed or mobile, terrestrial or non-terrestrial, and also building
scale in supporting infrastructure investments such as towers and
transmission
•
Enterprise and IoT
– a relatively new area of focus for the
Group but one which is achieving double-digit growth and holds
great promise as a multi-billion dollar addressable market in our
footprint for Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Business
to Consumer (B2B2C) solutions across multiple industries
•
Digital Financial Services (Fintech)
– moving beyond digital
payments/remittances, into higher value offerings in insurance
and micro/nano-credit
•
Media, Entertainment and Advertising
– via go-to-market
partnerships and investments through Axiata Digital, we will
tap new revenues from the explosion of digital content and
advertising on our networks
6.
Strategic M&A Exercises
Within our coremobilebusiness, Axiata’smergers and acquisitions (M&A)
focus has always been inorganic through in-country consolidation in our
existing footprint to strengthen our market position. We will continue
to explore potential merger opportunities where it is immediately value
accretive or can result in structural market repair leading to improved
long-term market sustainability and Axiata’s leadership.
We are determined to make edotco a world-class business and one of
the world’s largest independent tower companies by 2020. To do this,
we will aggressively pursue expansion opportunities with the intent
to add at least one to two more tower companies within ASEAN and
South Asia within the next one to two years.
While in the areas of Enterprise and IoT, Fintech, Media & Adtech, we
may make new and select investments into digital businesses, products
and solutions where they fit with our strategy for growth.
7. Portfolio Rebalancing
As a leading telecommunications group in Asia with a diverse
portfolio of investments across the region, it has always been a part
of our business and responsibility of management to continuously
review various strategic portfolio options to ensure long-term value
enhancement, and optimal deployment of capital/funding for our
growth strategies. In 2017, we will actively evaluate various options and
rebalance our portfolio from a risk management perspective to ensure
an effective and a balanced portfolio is maintained.
8.
Strengthening of Balance Sheet
Given the economic and currency volatility the Group is exposed to,
we will be looking at various initiatives to manage our US Dollar debt
incurred from borrowing for acquisitions and expansion, including
hedging and paring down our gearing to a more comfortable level.
9.
Digitisation
Group-wide we will be focusing on some key digitisation initiatives in 2017:
•
Customer facing digitisation efforts such as self-care digital
application and dealer registration digital application roll outs
•
Moving sales and marketing efforts onto digitised platforms
•
Enhancing digital and social media platform marketing, analytics
and customer engagement
•
Commencing a structured digitisation benchmarking against
global and regional peers
•
Setting and measuring Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to
achieve digitisation across the business at both Group and OpCo
levels
ADVANCING ASIA THROUGH NATIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS &
TALENT DEVELOPMENT
Throughout the years, we have stayed true to our broader vision of
Advancing Asia by piecing together the best in innovation, connectivity
and talent. We drive this through our commitments to the triple bottom
line of Economic, Environmental and Social (EES) sustainability throughout
all our countries of operation in Southeast Asia and South Asia. Our
approach to sustainability is underpinned by Axiata’s 4Ps Sustainability
Framework which outlines focus areas and initiatives to create long-term
value for our stakeholders and pave the way forward for our transition into
a New Generation Digital Champion in line with our Advancing Asia vision.