China Telecom Corporation (00728) continues to promote "Enhancing quality and efficiency for better returns."

China Telecom Corporation (00728) issued an announcement, aiming to create a service-oriented, technology-oriented, and secure enterprise vision, continuously implement the cloud, transformation and digital strategy, effectively promote the "quality improvement and efficiency increase, and return on investment" action, and accelerate the pace of high-quality development. 1. Continuously Implement Cloud, Transformation, and Digital Strategy Currently, a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is deepening. New technologies, represented by artificial intelligence, are driving industry reshaping and structural adjustments. The wave of digitization, networking, intelligence, and greenization is coming. New scenarios and demands for digital services continue to emerge, presenting diversified and scenario-based new characteristics. The country vigorously supports the implementation of the "two-heavy" project and expands the scope of the implementation of the "two-new" policy, bringing valuable opportunities for the industry and companies to accelerate high-quality development. Facing the future, the company firmly believes in the trend of high-quality development in the communications industry, actively grasps the development direction of the industry and artificial intelligence, continuously implements the cloud, transformation, and digital strategy, vigorously builds a "three-type" enterprise, highlights the theme of high-quality development more prominently, use reform and opening up as a driving force, talent empowerment as a key, continually promotes the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, assists in the smooth transition of old and new development momentum, further strengthens the supply of high-quality and efficient digital and intelligent products and services, actively boosts consumption, better meets the new demands for a good digital life from various industries and households, promotes the application of artificial intelligence to empower economic and social development, continuously enhances core functions, improves core competitiveness, accelerates the construction of a world-class enterprise, actively returns to shareholders, and strives to compose a new chapter of modern Chinese telecommunications. 2. High Emphasis on Shareholder Returns The company has always paid close attention to shareholder returns, striving to enhance profitability and cash flow creation capabilities. The Board of Directors has decided to propose to the annual general meeting of shareholders that the profit to be distributed in cash for the year 2024 should account for 72% of the profit attributable to the Company's shareholders for the current year, with the total dividend distributed for the year increasing by 11.4% year-on-year. Since the listing of A shares, the cumulative dividend amount has reached RMB 78.617 billion (including the year-end dividend for 2024). The company is committed to gradually increasing the profit distributed in cash to more than 75% of the profit attributable to shareholders in the current year from 2024 onwards, continuously creating greater value for shareholders. 3. Continuous Strengthening of Market Value Management The company firmly believes in the development prospects of the Chinese capital market, attaches great importance to market value management, has formulated market value management measures, submitted them to the board of directors for approval and implementation, continuously promotes market value growth and corporate intrinsic value growth, and the controlling shareholder China Telecom Corporation Group Co., Ltd. has accumulatively increased its holdings of the company's A shares by RMB 4.501 billion. The company will continue to promote the improvement of the company's operational level and development quality, manage investor relations, enhance information disclosure quality and transparency, and share the company's development achievements with the vast investors.