Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1254962
04.06.2020 2 NEWS Ex-CEO at GO is Cablenet Chief executive YIANNOS Michaelides, a veteran executive with over 27 years' inter- national experience in successfully leading telco and media companies, is set to take over the role of CEO at Ca- blenet Communications Systems Ltd as of 15th June. He comes with a prov- en track record of solid performance, delivering exceptional shareholder value. His position as CEO of GO p.l.c. in Malta, between 2012 and 2017 was in- strumental in achieving the GO p.l.c. investment in Cablenet – GO today is majority shareholder in Cablenet Communications Systems Ltd with a 60% stake. This experience, together with his advisory role at Cablenet over the last two years, as well as his excellent re- lationship and cooperation with Mr Shiacolas, the current CEO at Cablen- et, and the executive team at GO p.l.c. make him a natural successor and bodes well for a smooth transition. "I am honoured to be given such an opportunity to see Cablenet through its next phases of growth and to con- tinue bringing more value to our cus- tomers and esteemed shareholders. These are certainly exciting times for Cablenet, and I am fortunate to be able to lead a great team of people in this journey," Michaelides said. Shiacolas has decided to step down from his position as CEO, in order to dedicate more time to the other fam- ily businesses. "I am very proud of what Cablenet has achieved over the years. The experi- ence for me has been immense- ly fulfilling, as Cablenet grew organisation- ally from a start-up to a mature com- pany, whilst at the same time i m p l e m e n t - ing state-of-the art technology to become the In- ternet provid- er of choice. In addition, what has been huge- ly gratifying is to have contribut- ed actively in the positive impact Cablenet has had on the Cypriot society. After steering Ca- blenet this far, it is now time for me to invest more of my time on the other CNS Group family businesses," Shi- acolas said. Shiacolas, a seasoned businessman, was instrumental in transforming Cablenet from a small cable TV company, back in 2006, to a hugely successful integrated opera- tor, offering the fastest broad- band speeds and best val- ue-for-mon- ey bundles. Its relation- ship with GO p.l.c. dates back to 2014, when it s u c c e s s f u l l y agreed on a co- operation for eq- uity participation in the com- pany in order for Cablenet to grow its market share. C a b l e n - et's network currently covers approximately 55% of households in Cyprus and offers super-fast broadband, multiple high definition TV channels and fixed te- lephony from a single connection. Coverage is being extended as part of a multi-year programme, which also includes ongoing improvements in systems and processes to retain the leading edge in the provision of con- verged telecom services in the market. During 2019, Cablenet continued to increase its broadband client base by 9.1%, bringing the total customer base today to more than 73,000 subscribers. Most recently, Cablenet purchased its own mobile spectrum allowing it to commence the operation of its own mobile network. The Company in- tends to leverage this transition to sig- nificantly enhance its market position in the mobile services market in the coming years, whilst at the same time reinforcing its position as a dominant broadband provider. Commenting on this transition, Nikhil Patil, CEO at GO p.l.c. and Chairman at Cablenet Communica- tions Ltd said: "As majority sharehold- ers, we are truly grateful to Nicolas for his commitment, dedication and vision over the years and very much look forward to welcoming Yiannos into the fold. We have full faith that he will continue to bring additional value to the company and customers alike." Shiacolas will be appointed non-Ex- ecutive Chairman of Cablenet and will continue to support the company in its strategic direction. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Scicluna warns against common tax CONCERNS were quickly voiced how- ever, on whether the package could be a double-edged sword for Malta, with Scicluna himself warning of the po- tential pitfalls of the proposed EU res- cue package, which he said would turn out to be a "prickly pear." Moreover, EU expert and former PN MEP candidate Peter Agius had told MaltaToday that the EU might in- crease financial transaction and digi- tal services taxes in member states to fund the package, which could end up being detrimental to these two impor- tant sectors in Malta. Scicluna today said the government did not have an issue with taxes per se, but wanted to make sure the island's competitivity wasn't harmed. He noted that, in the past, various EU taxation proposals had been opposed. "This is not the first time the Euro- pean Commission proposed this sort of thing. The Common Consolidat- ed Corporate Tax Base (CCTB), for instance, has a long history of being ditched by certain countries, includ- ing Malta," he said. "The same is true for the financial transaction tax which was born after the 2008/9 economic crisis. This end- ed up having only nine to 10 countries to implement it, and an agreement hasn't even been reached between them..." The digital tax – which could be used to raise funds for the COVID-19 package – was the latest form of these kinds of taxes, he said, highlighting that the EU was at most likely to put in place a corporation tax, since dig- ital taxes would present considerable hurdles. "US president Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he would respond and take commercial action, by means of tariffs, against countries which inctro- duce a digital tax on large American corporations, such as Google. So, in effect, it's not easy to put a [digital tax] in place," Scicluna said. "The most which [the EU could do] is implement a corporation tax. This might be accepted by the US and OECD. Malta will participate in any discussion on this, like all other mem- ber states will. What is important for us is not taxes, but maintaining our competitivity." Scicluna also mentioned oth- er taxes the EU could raise to generate funds for the package, including envi- ronmental taxes. "Would Malta be against environment taxes - which aim to reduce emission which are harming us? No. But when a tax - environmental or not - is put in pace, it must be spread [fairly] and its dis- triubtion should not hurt small states more than the big one. When I say small, I don't only mean Malta geographical size, but als our income when compared to countries like Germany and France." With this in mind, the minister said Malta would be discussing the Com- mission's proposals within the rele- vant EU institutions - the European Parliament and European Council will have to draw up their respective positions on the package, after which it can be decid- ed how much each country will get from the pro- gramme. "After all, there must be unanimous agreement for a tax to be intro- duced. So we now have to see how discussion will evolve... In principle, we are in favour of the package and we will ensure it is fair for all, including for Malta." Yiannos Michaelides, CEO at Cabinet Communications Systems Ltd. Finance Minister Edward Scicluna