KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 – Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) said its foreign exchange loss is not at a worrying level as it is only at 12 per cent of its total debts. TM Executive Director and Group Financial Officer Datuk Bazlan Osman said the telco’s total debts in foreign currency stood at about US$200 million, which will be due in 2025.
The company’s forex losses on borrowing in the second quarter ended June 30, 2015 were RM14.5 million versus forex gains of RM7.1 million in the same period last year. Bazlan said TM will continue to monitor the situation because hedging activities will have its own cost and if the cost is manageable we will do the hedging.
He told this on the sidelines of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) International Accountants Conference 2015. Asked whether TM will issue more ringgit-denominated debts rather than US dollar terms to cushion the impact of the currency fluctuation, Bazlan said it would depend on the need for the borrowings.
“We have our own capitalisation,” he said, adding that TM’s current focus is on its long-term evolution (LTE) network rollout, expected by year-end. It is working as planned. We will let you know once we are ready,” said Bazlan, adding that TM will announce its third quarter financial results in end-November.
Earlier, in a panel discussion on “Finance Function Make Over: Adapting to Emerging Business Challenges”, he said TM has embarked on a shared service organisation system to consolidate its wholesale, retail and other divisions into a centralised function.
“In the meantime, we have also consolidated all the accounts including newly acquired Packet One Networks (M) Sdn Bhd, allowing us to focus more on revenue, assist procurement activities and be involved in business planning on how to grow the business,” he added.
