The Samoa Submarine Cable Company has announced a dividend payout of T$1.9 million four years ahead of schedule.

Samoa Submarine Cable Company (S.S.C.C.) Chief Executive Officer, Emmanuel Delanoue, said the dividend payment to its six founding shareholders is a result of its success in implementing its business plan. 

“Samoa Submarine Cable Company’s successful execution of its commercial and technical strategy laid out in its business plan, highlights the company’s vision and leadership that has delivered this fantastic achievement of paying its first dividend four years ahead of Samoa Submarine Cable Company business plan forecast,” he said. 

“In addition to Samoa Submarine Cable Company’s financial success, we have also delivered our social dividend to the Samoan people with high quality and affordable connectivity to Samoa (in particular to rural communities). We are happy to have played a leading role in bridging the South Pacific’s digital divide via fast, reliable and affordable connectivity for all.” 

The cable company was created by the Government of Samoa and its six founding shareholders: Samoa National Provident Fund, Unit Trust of Samoa, Samoa Life Assurance Corporation, Bluesky Samoa Ltd, Computer Services Ltd, and Digicel Samoa Ltd with the support of development partners. 

The dividend payment is a testament to the uptake of the Tui-Samoa Cable, according to Delanoue.

“The T$1,923,600 dividend being paid out today is testament of the take-up of Tui-Samoa Cable capacity and further supports the Government's decision to undertake such an ambitious project on behalf of the Samoan people,” he added.

Emphasising that the cable company’s service is the first in the region to offer Trans-Pacific extensions, Mr Delanoue said they continue to increase their bandwidth and expand their network for their local customers.

The cable company’s Chairperson, Tevaga Viane Tagiilima, used the occasion to thank their partners for their support.

“On behalf of Samoa Submarine Cable Company, I would like to thank the Government of Samoa, our development partners, the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the Australian Government, Samoa Submarine Cable Company’s six founding shareholders, our customers and the people of Samoa for their extraordinary support,” he said.

Tevaga also thanked the company’s late founding directors, Laeimau Tevi Tanuvasa of Computer Services Ltd and Sa’u Justina Sa’u of Unit Trust Samoa.

“Samoa Submarine Cable Company will continue to work together to connect more people as a means to improve social and economic prosperity for our region,” he added.

The cable company is a private firm incorporated in Apia, which was built to operate the Tui-Samoa submarine cable between Apia and Suva, Fiji with spurs to Savai'i and Wallis and Futuna.

It also provides cable landing party arrangements for other regional and trans-Pacific international cable systems. Its mandate is to operate an open access and non-discriminatory landing party in order to deliver fast, reliable and affordable internet services to promote ICT innovation and development as an enabler of economic growth and social prosperity for the people of Samoa and the Pacific region.