TM to provide guidance of MSAP impact on its business by 1H23

KUALA LUMPUR: Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) expects to be able to provide guidance of the new Mandatory Standard on Access Pricing's (MSAP) impact on its business when there is greater clarity on the policy, approximately by the first half of this year (1H 2023).

"We are (still) accessing and monitoring this (MSAP effects on its business) and just for the benefit of everyone, with various telecommunication companies (telcos) that is leasing the infrastructure from TM, the arrangement is not at the MSAP level, but is based on commercial contract behind it.

"This commercial contract include various service features, pricing and so forth. Now that MSAP has been implemented, we will also be reviewing this commercial contract currently in place with the regulators, as well as with the telcos, and then finalise their impacts (on our business),” TM group chief executive officer Datuk Imri Mokhtar said in a virtual media briefing following TM’s financial year 2022 (FY2022) results announcement, today.

According to Minister of Communications and Digital Fahmi Fadzil, the new MSAP which came into force yesterday may weigh on TM’s earnings in the early stage of implementation, and believed that the company is able to bounce back after the initial setback, based on the group’s historical net profit between 2017 and 2022.

On TM's FY2022 results, Imri said 2022 was a milestone year for the company, tracking well in transformation with growth across its business segments - Unifi, TM One and TM Global, and cost efficiency improvement.

"The stronger financial performance places TM in a position to deliver better value and benefits for our stakeholders - customers, shareholders, partner ecosystem, and community.

"TM is committed to continuously invest in shaping a digital Malaysia through technology that empowers communities, businesses and government, not just in our core business, but also in new, adjacent growth areas such as cloud, data centre, cybersecurity, and platform services,” he added. - Bernama