Smart Axiata Given Audience with Prime Minister
On the occasion of Smart Axiata’s 10th anniversary, the company vowed to continue being a key development partner of the Royal Government, building on its strong socio-economic contributions.
Phnom Penh, 17th December 2019: Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, managing director/president and group chief executive officer of Axiata Group Berhad, the majority shareholder of Smart Axiata, together with Thomas Hundt, CEO of Smart Axiata, and Asri Hassan, Group chief corporate officer of Axiata Group, made a courtesy call to Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, the prime minister of Cambodia, this week.
During the meeting, held at the Peace Palace, Axiata and Smart reaffirmed their commitment to Cambodia. Both parties discussed key milestones that needed to be reached to further propel the country’s digital economy, including the Kingdom’s 5G prospects and potential measures to expand mobile broadband in rural areas. These echo well with the new generation of young Cambodians, who have rapidly embraced ICT and digital technologies, as well as Samdech Techo’s vision of leading the way in ASEAN and bridging the digital divide in rural areas.
During the meeting, Smart’s national contributions were also highlighted. By the end of 2018, Smart had invested over 1.42 billion USD in capital and operating expenditure, and paid over 370 million USD in taxes, levies and regulatory fees. The company allocates more than 1% of its annual revenue (equivalent to over 3 million USD) for CSR programs in the areas of education, environment, community sports and tech innovation. Through the Universal Service Obligation Fund and Capacity Building and R&D Fund, the company also commits 3% of its mobile service revenue every year to projects that drive mobile broadband infrastructure and human capital development in the ICT sector.
Despite the exponential growth of mobile data usage and Smart’s strong financial performance, the delegation also shared the importance of promoting industry sustainability, especially as Cambodia moves towards an investment-intensive 5G era and a telco-reliant digital economy.
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