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24 November 1999
i-CABLE Listed On Hong Kong Stock Exchange
i-CABLE Communications
Limited entered a new phase of development following its successful listing
on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited today.
Speaking at a ceremony to mark the listing of its shares at the Trading
Hall of The Stock Exchange this morning, Deputy Chairman, President and
Chief Executive Officer of i-CABLE Communications Limited, Mr Stephen
Ng, said the listing marked an important milestone in the company's development.
"A solid foundation has now been laid for the further development of i-CABLE
Communications Limited," he added.
"With the rapid expansion of our fibre cable network; supported by our
content production capability; and the imminent launch of our broadband
services, we are well on track to become a leading operator in the provision
of integrated multimedia services," Mr Ng said.
Commenting on the overwhelming response to the Global Offering of its
shares, Mr Ng said it demonstrated that global and local investors endorsed
the direction and potential of information technology development of the
company. "We hope our listing could attract more high quality information
technology companies to list in Hong Kong," he said.
The i-CABLE Group is the leading pay-TV operator in Hong Kong. It serves
over 440,000 pay-TV subscribers, and is one of the five most watched or
most read media in Hong Kong.
In 1998, the Group's cable TV business achieved positive earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation. In March 1999, the Group
launched a dial-up Internet access service and now serves over 100,000
dial-up Internet access subscribers.
The Group's network reaches over 1.67 million homes. Presently, half of
these homes are served by a hybrid fibre coaxial or HFC network, with
fibre trunks feeding coaxial "last miles", and the other half by microwave
trunks feeding similar coaxial "last miles". The Group intends to substantially
complete the replacement of the microwave trunks by fibre trunks to complete
its two-way broadband HFC network by the end of 2001.
The Group originates about half of the channels in its basic package to
address the strong demand in Hong Kong for local, Cantonese language content,
with news, movies and sports as principal programming platforms and marketing
drivers. Over its six years of operations, the Group has utilised its
locally targeted programming and marketing expertise to increase the market's
acceptance of pay-TV services and to build its CABLE TV brand name.
The Group plans to leverage its broadband cable network, local content
production and repackaging, marketing and customer service capabilities
to become a leading high-speed Internet access service provider in Hong
Kong. In early 2000, the Group expects to launch its high speed Internet
access service using cable modem technology, subject to the receipt of
a fixed telecommunications network services licence. Its "always-on",
high-speed Internet access service will connect users to the Internet
at 10 Mbps, more than 100 times faster than connection through dial-up
telephone modems.
The Group is also exploring opportunities to offer additional products
and services, such as voice services, to further exploit the capabilities
of its two-way broadband HFC cable network.
The Group's strategy in the immediate term is to:
- expand its pay-TV
subscriber base through innovative programming and marketing;
- accelerate the
rollout of its HFC cable network;
- pursue rapid penetration
of its high-speed Internet access service; and
- leverage its broadband
network, content, customer base, brand name, and marketing and servicing
infrastructure for the deployment of new products and services that
will generate additional revenue streams.
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