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What is Jasmine’s mission?
    • To create high returns for our shareholders and exceptional benefits for our customers by becoming Thailand’s leading provider of Internet Protocol (IP) based telecoms services.
    What is IP and why is it so important?
    • It is a common global standard for transmitting information around the world electronically. It is important because it is allows data, voice and multimedia to be transmitted very efficiently over the same network and at much lower cost than over conventional networks. It is one of the major factors driving the amazing growth of the Internet and the World Wide Web and it is revolutionising the whole telecoms industry.
    What are Jasmine’s current activities and how will this change?
    • Jasmine is one of Thailand’s leading builders and operators of telecom networks. For example we built and now operate the Jasmine Submarine Cable that provides an extremely high capacity fibre optic link around Thailand’s coastline using the latest technology. We also built and operate a nationwide rural telephone network using satellite technology. We also provide other telecoms services to corporate customers throughout Thailand. We have substantial shareholdings in two associate companies: Thai Telephone and Telecommunication (TT&T) (20%) who have 1.5 million telephone subscribers throughout Thailand and Internet KSC (37.5%) Thailand’s leading Internet access provider with over 200,000 users.
    • We will continue to build and operate key components of Thailand’s telecom infrastructure. These activities are very profitable for us. But we will seek to integrate these into a very modern nationwide IP network over which we can provide a wide range of telecom services including Internet access, data and voice communications. This migration of our activities into the IP area provides us with enormous potential for profitable growth.
    Can you explain the full scope of your IP based business in the future?
    • Our IP based business will be organized into three levels:

    Firstly, IP Network Infrastructure. Using existing assets such as the Jasmine Submarine Cable, and Acumen satellite network, in conjunction with other strategically placed network assets under our control we will assemble the most comprehensive IP network in Thailand. We will provide the highest quality transport network for IP data within Thailand and between Thailand and overseas. Our customers will include international carriers wishing to terminate IP traffic in Thailand as well as local customers including our own IP Solutions business.

    IP Solutions. This division will provide a full range of IP based communications solutions to corporate customers including, IP Virtual Private Networks, Voice and Fax over IP, and Internet access. Customers will also include Internet access providers (ISPs) including our own full service ISP division.

    Internet Access / Web Applications. This division will seek to be Thailand’s largest Internet access provider with over half a million users within three years. But it will also provide a full range of Web based services to both corporate and residential customers, including for example Web hosting, E-commerce, special event web broadcasting, etc.
    What are the key factors driving change in the telecommunications industry in Thailand over the next few years:
    • The 1997 currency crisis that has depleted demand and significantly weakened the financial strength of all the industry incumbents (i.e. high debt burden)
    • Due to World Trade Organization’s requirements, Thailand will have to privatize its two state-owned telecommunication companies (TOT and CAT) in the coming few years as well as to fully liberalize the industry by the year 2006.
    • Globalization of the capital market
    • Globalization of the telecommunications industry
    • Increasing pace of new technology introduction
    These powerful forces would likely lead to:
    • Entrance into the market of new and aggressive national/global players with innovative and superior customer value proposition leveraging either their leading-edge technologies, their well-established marketing know-how and/or their important financial strengths
    • Higher performance requirements for telecom companies to meet higher global return on investments hurdles
    • Possible mergers between existing players to form more powerful groups.
    How do you see Jasmine being affected by these factors and what moves will you make?
    Rather than a threat, we see the industry shake up as a unique window of opportunity to grow into a really competitive leading Thai telecom player in the next 3 –5 years. We will aggressively but soundly restructure our asset base as well as strengthen our financial and human resources:
    We aim to:
    • rapidly embrace cutting-edge technologies to provide superior products/services for our clients (e.g. IP-based businesses)
    • Transforming ourselves into an attractive Thai partner to leading global telecommunications players with complementary value-added skills and asset base
    • Take advantage of the liberalization process to enter new areas of business (e.g. Voice over IP, international communication links, etc.)
    Which are currently the most valuable parts of your business portfolio?
    • Today the largest value contributors to the group are Acumen and JSTC. In both of these activities, Jasmine is receiving from TOT steady flows of income from the management and maintenance of the satellite and submarine cables.
    How much additional value would you create for your shareholders through your new growth strategy?
    • We aim at multiplying current value by 3 or 4 times within three years.
    What new activities are creating the most additional value?
    • The most important in the short term will be our ISP business which we expect to contribute approximately two-third of the additional value, the balance will come from the IP Networks and the IP Solutions
    How would you go about implementing this ambitious strategy?
    To achieve this ambitious objective, we will:
    • Gradually divest all our current peripheral and non-core activities but at only the best value for our shareholders. This includes but not restricts to our holdings in telecom activities in the regional markets (India, Philippines, Indonesia, etc.)
    • Sustain as much as possible our lucrative cash-generator businesses, i.e. our engineering turnkey operations (JTS) as well as our management of the TDMA satellite network, the rural telephone network (Acumen) and the sub-marine cable operations (JSTC).
    • Raise an additional amount of approximately US$ 100 millions to strengthen our corporate balance sheet as well as to invest in the high growth IP-based businesses
    What are the major elements of your IP-based investment strategy?
    Part of the additional money raised will be used to
    • Secure/strengthen our access to the IP-backbone network so as to ensure our high quality service level to our customers.
    • Aggressively build our ISP business through a combination of selective acquisitions and well-structured alliances/partnerships with leading-edge national and global Web services/contents providers.
    • Invest heavily in deepening our understanding of the needs and buying behaviors of the corporate segment, our traditionally strong customer base as well as in the acquisition and retention of the retail segment (market research, customer surveys, focus groups, etc.)
    • Invest heavily in the design, marketing, promotion and sales of our new and unique IP-based products/services to match the needs and buying behaviors of each of our targeted customers
    • Invest in the acquisition of skills required to build a customer/IP network centric company. This includes but not restricts to large-scale recruitment of retail marketing talents and IP specialists, acquisition of specialized boutique firms, etc.
    • Build our Jasmine name into a corporate as well as household brand names
    What are the current key strengths Jasmine can leverage to successfully implement its new IP-based strategy?
    We can effectively leverage the following key assets:
    • Our excellent expertise in various telecommunication technologies (fixed lines, satellite, wireless, etc.)
    • Our unmatched track record in successfully designing, building, operating and maintaining complex telecommunication networks and systems.
    • Our privileged access to multiple customer bases leading to attractive cross-marketing and selling opportunities, e.g.
    • Large and loyal customer base in the large corporate segment from Acumen. We should be able to extend additional products/services offerings to these large corporations and financial institutions. We could also offer our products/services to their employees, dealers, suppliers and customers.
    • Large retail and/or corporate customer base of our traditional business partners (TT&T, TOT, KSC)
    • Our strategic ownership and/or management of key telecommunication assets, vital for the IP-based businesses, e.g.
    • KSC for the ISP business.
    • TT&T, Acumen and JSTC for the access to the IP backbone networks
    • JSTC for the international communication links,
    • TT&T for the Internet telephony,
    • Our proven ability to navigate through the administration and/or to influence the outcomes of the Thai telecommunication industry in the coming years.
    • Our deep understanding of the players of the Thai telecommunication industry
    What would be the key implementation challenges your organization will face?
    We will have to overcome the following implementation challenges to achieve our ambition:
    • Transforming our technical culture into a marketing and customer-driven culture. Our leadership team strongly believes in the future strategic directions and is committed to lead the required cultural transformation of Jasmine group. Enthusiastic and capable change leaders will be nominated at pivotal positions in our organization.
    • Attracting and retaining critical resources, especially high caliber executives in the marketing, retailing and sales arenas. Best practices in human resources management will be implemented.
    • Acquiring and/or structuring alliances/partnerships fast enough to build our IP-based businesses.
    • Integrating new businesses entities into a coherent telecom group.
    How critical would be a strategic partner in the success of your strategy?
    • A strategic partner would be speeding up the implementation pace of our strategy. However, its success will certainly not depend exclusively in the existence of the strategic partner.
    What would be the ideal profile of the strategic partner?
    Any partner with a strategic intent to expand into the Thai telecom industry and bringing the following values to us would be welcome:
    • Excellent expertise and proven track record in the IP-based business;
    • Strong and sound financial resources;
    • Excellent marketing and retail skills;
    • Global reach;
             
     
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