Incoming Astro CEO likely to continue overall business direction
KUCHING: Despite the change in Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd’s (Astro) leadership, analysts believe that its overall business direction will remain intact.
Of note, Astro announced that Datuk Rohana Rozhan, the group chief executive officer (CEO) has given notice of her resignation, which will take effect from January 31, 2019. Henry Tan, who is currently the group’s chief content & consumer officer, has been named as the successor.
“Despite the change in the leadership, we understand that Astro will continue to reposition its business with emphasis towards personalisation, mobility, interactivity and customer engagement in the financial year 2019 (FY19). It also aims to focus on the signature vernacular’s contents (particular Malay and Nusantara) and provides more premium and seamless experience to its subscribers,” the research arm of Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd (Kenanga Research) said in a report.
It noted that Tan joined Astro on May 2008 as chief operating officer and was re-designated as group’s chief content & consumer officer on November 2017.
“He is responsible for strategising, aggregating, developing, producing and growing content IPs across all genres as well as vernaculars to ensure consumer relevance, reach and engagement.
“Besides, he is also in charge of strategic airtime sales as well as optimising the media assets across all segments. With more than 10year experience in place, Tan is set to continue to champion and lead Astro into the future,” Kenanga Research explained.
Overall, it reiterated its ‘outperform’ call and noted that Astro’s decent dividend yield of six to seven per cent could provide bargain hunting opportunities to yield-seeking and long-term investors.