29. Which are your telecommunications projects?
Modernity is emphasized in telecommunications, much more activity for connectivity than for broadband and well, I think that in the case of mobile telecommunications, we have achieved a higher than 55 per cent penetration. We now believe that it will be higher than 60 per cent. In less than a year, or a year from now two out of every three Latin Americans will have a wireless telephone with everything that this implies. Two out of every three will have a mobile handset and obviously our approach will be connectivity growth. Thus we have to continue investing in Telmex and to keep promoting the digital culture as we have done for the past six or seven years.
We started financing computers in the telephone bill. We were the main distributor of computers in Mexico and every day we are going to try to have more people own a computer, but also a broadband connection. This is one of the important objectives of telecommunications.
We are going to try to increase penetration in telecommunications: in convergence, in connectivity, in broadband. How will the market take it? First it will see how successful we are going to be and second, how the investor is going to rate it. América Móvil at one-third the price of Telefónica MoviStar; Telefónica Móvil has already been absorbed. But when growth starts and its expenses are controlled and there is an efficient, operative structure and as I said, with low levels, few managerial tiers, with austerity, etcetera, and when we saw the company expenses, well they are low.
So what will happen now? How much will the company continue to grow? What are we going to say if Latin American economies have tomorrow or in twenty years, I do not know in how many years, a 15 thousand per capita revenue? Wouldn’t it be wonderful? It would be a big arch for the companies; we would have one hundred per cent penetration, etcetera. But, if underdevelopment continues and becomes a chronic situation, well then things would be different.
What is the future of the group’s companies? We shall continue to invest; we shall continue to pursue more penetration, more broadband. What will investors think about this? Are they going to like it, to appreciate it properly? Obviously we will have to reward stockholders.
I was saying that for example in América Móvil and Telmex, we had approximately 3.5 per cent. This means that there was another 96 per cent that had done very well with the América Móvil and Telmex shares; this was in 91.
For example, in América Móvil today, we have approximately 30, because the other 70 per cent has been doing very well. It has been fixed and mobile telephony because this can be sold and people buy the shares. We do not know who they are, to us they are anonymous, and they have done very well.
And then in the purchase of 3.5 to 30 they have also made a lot of money, another one. What is going to happen now? Am I worried about its ranking, where am I, up or down? No, that is not a concern to me. I am concerned about the companies being efficient, that grow and have appropriate strategies, are competitive, may compete with anyone, and their value will be assessed by investors and analysts.
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