The Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure suggests that the joint stock company “Moldtelecom” should be exempted from paying dividends on the profit made in 2017. A draft decision proposed for public debates says the exemption will ensure the possibility of increasing investments in developing the provided services, of maintaining the high quality of services and of increasing profitability, IPN reports.
The authors of the decision say “Moldtelecom” offers the population the whole range of telecommunications services, such as landline and mobile telephone, Internet, data transport and digital television. The analysis of revenues in 2015-2017 shows that the turnover on the fixed-line telephone market decreased amid the about 11% decline in sales. The application of lower tariffs for landline telephone services than the real costs is one of the major problems faced by the company during many years. These cover only 52.7% of the costs.
The diminution trend in the fixed-line phone services is a global one, being determined by the rapid migration of voice services from the landline networks to the cellular ones and the decrease in the number of users. The traffic of fixed interconnections during the past seven years also diminished and such a tendency will persist. In 2017, the revenues from landline telephone services fell by about 10%, while from interconnections by approximately 8%. There are over 500 providers on the electronic communications market. Some of them have an advanced financial capacity, including for making investments in developing the own telecommunications services.
To ensure a high quality of electronic communications services and keep the position on the market, “Moldtelecom” should annually invest considerable financial resources to develop services based on last-generation technology. The investment recovery period is of 5-8 years.
