Telstra "no longer Australian" says Thodey

Stuart Corner
Friday, 11 March 2011 12:02

IT Industry - Strategy

Telstra CEO, David Thodey, told a conference in Melbourne yesterday that Telstra no long sees itself as an Australian company.

Addressing several hundred industry delegates invited to the Huawei- sponsored Asialink event Thodey said: "We have got to change the way we look at the world. We no longer think of ourselves as an Australian company. We are very proud to be Australian but we already have 6000 people working offshore and we will continue to grow that."

He added: "We think of ourselves as in the Asia community because that is where we must be'¦We must start to be more expansive'¦It is very very important. I would challenge us all not to be bound by the old ways of thinking."

However Telstra does not intend to 'de-Australianise' through an ambitious programme of overseas acquisitions. In its results for the half year to 31 December 2010, Telstra said "The company has also highlighted that it sees growth opportunities in media, network applications and services and Asia, and we will continue to pursue these," but it added: "Our focus remains on organic growth, although we would consider small acquisitions if they create clear value for our shareholders."

It identified "the restructuring of our [international wholesale carrier] Reach assets in Asia and significantly improved performance at [Hong Kong mobile operator] CSL New World are indicators of the progress we are making in these areas."

Telstra has recently sold, for close to $0.5b its 50.6 percent share in Chinese Internet property SouFun. When asked during the Q&A session at the Asialink conference "How do you see China as a market for Telstra?" Thodey hedged saying: "We have 6000 people offshore and two and a half thousand in Hong Kong and we have been very active in what we call digital media'¦We see a bright future in terms of working in China but the market is a little heated so we might just bide our time."