# Foreign telecom stock picks



## canadian_investor (Jul 4, 2011)

can anyone help me pick a couple of foreign telecom stocks by sharing opinions and ideas.
I have short listed the following (yield in brackets):
Vodafone - VOD (5.34%)
British Telecom - BT (3.42%)
China Telecom Corp. - CHA (2%)
New Zealand Telecom Corp - NZT (9.86%)
KT Corporation (South Korea) - KT (8.22%)
France Telecom FTW (13.92%)
China Mobile - CHL (3.78%)
Telstra - TLSYY (8.09%)
Telefonica - TEF (13.09%)
A couple of these are pink sheet listed. there are a few more european ones like Italia telecom, Portugal telecom and so on, all with dangerously high yields.
I am not chasing yield and want a well capitalised company with stable yields.
iam also aware of with-holding taxes and foreign dividend implications and will take that into account as well.
ideas and thoughts?


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## londoncalling (Sep 17, 2011)

I recently bought TEF and also like NZT. I bought it as a long term hold. "blood in the streets" type purchase I like TEF because it has exposure to Brazil and SA. NZT seems to have control over its regional market. It may be too small an area and have too much cost set up for another company to set itself up there. 

Cheers


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## PMREdmonton (Apr 6, 2009)

I own TEF and VOD and would recommend both of them.

VOD has some emerging market exposure and also has a 45% stake in Verizon wireless. If you guy the ADR you won't have to pay any dividend withholding taxes. This is a good one for your TFSA for that reason.

TEF has a good PE and a great yield which is likely sustainable after the slight cutback this year. They had to save some money to pay for network upgrades but I know some won't invest in any company that cuts back any dividend for any reason. There is a 21% Spanish dividend withholding tax so you may want to hold this one in a non-registered account if you have one so you can recoup the tax when you file your income taxes.


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## canadian_investor (Jul 4, 2011)

ok so both NZT and VOD sound like good buys then.
i have about $10k to allocate to this sector and i was planning to take about $2k or $3k out of that and splitting them equally among the european telecom stocks given their high yields and current valuations because of the whole european situation.
i thought Germany's telecom company will have better prospects than the rest but that thing trades on the Pink sheets (DTEGY).

i don't have any experience buying or selling on the pink sheets, is it too bad?
should i forget about it?


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## Knight Rider (Apr 5, 2009)

So with these withholding taxes, could you confirm this is how it works in a TFSA:

FTE Pays $100 Dividend .
French Government takes 25%.
US Government takes 15%.
You receive $63.75 dividend (approx 8.87% dividend as opposed to 13.92%).


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## canadian_investor (Jul 4, 2011)

Knight Rider said:


> FTE Pays $100 Dividend .
> French Government takes 25%.
> US Government takes 15%.
> You receive $63.75 dividend (approx 8.87% dividend as opposed to 13.92%).


i don't believe the US gov will take an additional cut if you buy the ADR inside an RRSP.
only the French gov will take its cut , assuming you are right about the 25%.


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## PMREdmonton (Apr 6, 2009)

The thing about pink sheets is there won't be much liquidity so if you are the type to stampede out of a stock after bad news you'll get crushed. In the long run the pink sheet listing has to follow the valuation of the actual stock but there can be short-term divergences for a few hours.

The other thing is that you should buy and sell with limit trades and not market trades.

Otherwise it should be fine and you can even take advantage of the lack of liquidity to your benefit if you are patient.


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## rusty23 (Jan 25, 2012)

londoncalling said:


> I recently bought TEF and also like NZT. I bought it as a long term hold. "blood in the streets" type purchase I like TEF because it has exposure to Brazil and SA. NZT seems to have control over its regional market. It may be too small an area and have too much cost set up for another company to set itself up there.
> 
> Cheers


If you want exposure directly to Brazil you can also go with VIV (Telefonica Brazil) or TSU (TIM). From my trip this winter i found TIM was the most popular pre-paid and the cheapest option (no ID needed to buy pre-paid card). Well Telefonica owned all the phonebooths and it's VIVO brand was their cell phone carrier. Unfortunately both stocks are near their 52 week highs.

Also of note no one really uses an iphone there, the iphone is not subsidized so it retailed about $1800 reals (roughly $900 US). And you risk getting robbed with one (my cousins got held at gunpoint sitting at a stoplight and they took his phone lol)


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## cardhu (May 26, 2009)

PMREdmonton said:


> VOD ... you won't have to pay any dividend withholding taxes...is a good one for your TFSA for that reason.
> 
> TEF ... There is a 21% Spanish dividend withholding tax so you may want to hold this one in a non-registered account if you have one so you can recoup the tax when you file your income taxes.


You can't recoup the foreign withholdings, short of a direct appeal to the Spanish gov't, which isn't likely to succeed ... stocks like TEF are best held in a registered account ... whether TFSA or RRSP would be better is a function of circumstance, but one thing is certain, a taxable account is by far the worst type of account in which to hold TEF or others like it.

In the case where TFSA/RRSP capacity is limited, and you must hold something in taxable account, VOD would be a better choice than TEF, as it would be punished less severely for being held there. In a diverse portfolio, though, neither is going to appear very near the top of the "least-punished" list.


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## cardhu (May 26, 2009)

Knight Rider said:


> So with these withholding taxes, could you confirm this is how it works in a TFSA:
> 
> FTE Pays $100 Dividend .
> French Government takes 25%.
> ...


You should receive $75 net dividend, after 25% french withholding and 0% US withholding ... US should not be taking an additional cut regardless of where you hold the FTE ... US withholdings apply only to US-sourced income, and French dividends are not US-sourced. 

Note however, that just because there shouldn't be a withholding, doesn't mean there won't be one ... brokers and transfer agents can and do make mistakes.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

*telefonica dividends 2012*

lol huge confusion over the may telefonica dividend & the flabbergasting drop in ADR share price yesterday which, apparently, factored in the scrip dividend that will be payable this month.

lol i have no idea what the company means by a 2012 share buyback that is supposed to benefit tef shareholders to the tune of .20 euros.

lol the broker tells me they are going to pay USD .691385/share on 31 may & there are no signs that they, the brokers, are going to distribute any kind of stock dividend. Nevertheless i believe that holders of the ADR are entitled to the stock div. After all, every ADR holder suffered yesterday by the loss of an amount that was equal to the value of said stock div. So surely every ADR holder should receive it.

lol i also observe that TEF formally promised shareholders (link below) a may/12 dividend of .83 euro/share which amount "will be distributed in may 2012 thrugh the combination of a cash payment and a payment in kind."

other spanish companies have also begun issuing part or all of their dividends as new treasury shares or payment in kind. Evidently the intent is to get around the 19% spanish withholding tax otherwise payable on cash divs.

here is a transcript of the 14 dec/2011 press conference in which TEF cfo Angel Vila spelled out the details of the company's new dividend policy (link to transcript pdf is at bottom of page.)

http://www.telefonica.com/en/shareholders_investors/html/dividendos/politica.shtml


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

humble_pie said:


> lol i also observe that TEF formally promised shareholders (link below) a may/12 dividend of .83 euro/share which amount "will be distributed in may 2012 thrugh the combination of a cash payment and a payment in kind."
> 
> other spanish companies have also begun issuing part or all of their dividends as new treasury shares or payment in kind.


They are definitely engaging in corporate doublespeak. saving money. diluting shareholders.


> Instead, the reason for the company's high dividend yield is that the company's share price has tanked by 42% over the last year. If you hold the dividend payout steady, this has the effect of increasing the yield (due to a lower denominator). None of this implies a "steadfast commitment to shareholders."
> 
> Making matters worse is the fact that the company's actions are diametrically opposed to what the Chairman is suggesting; the company is actually cutting its dividend from the prior year!
> 
> I am not suggesting that the company shouldn't be cutting its dividend (given the price decline, I would favour eliminating the dividend and diverting that capital toward share repurchases), but I am suggesting that transparently misleading investors about the company's largesse is wrong.


http://seekingalpha.com/article/589061-telefnica-sa-corporate-doublespeak
I hold AMX which has been great. But TEF has been a dividend play for me.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

kcowan i know about the seeking alpha article - yes the writer was truly ticked - but the issue i'd hoped to raise is what about the stock dividend we are supposed to receive on 31 may/12.

telefonica is paying a total of .83 Euro, divided into .53 Euro as cash dividend & .30 Euro as stock dividend.

the exchange rate has already been fixed at 1.3045, so we the shareholders should be receiving the above mix for a total distrib of USD 1.082735.

so far, tdw is acknowledging only the cash portion, the .53 Euro which exchanges into usd .691385.

at this point may i make your day - since you say you are a TEF dividend investor - & mention that Spain raised her withholding tax from 19% to 21% on january 1st 2012.

what i learned from citibank the ADR manager is that registered TEF shareholders will be allowed to choose how they wish to receive that stock dividend portion (the .30 Euro portion.) They can elect either stock div with no withholding tax or take cash which will be subject to withholding tax.

however, it seems that the brokers are making the election choice for all clients who hold TEF in street name at brokers. As far as i can make out, all the discount brokers have decided that all of their clients will receive cash for the .30 Euro part of the dividend, while none of their clients will be allowed to receive stock divs.

is this unfair or what (laughter.)

here we have the iberian phone company initiating a part-stock dividend to help their overseas shareholders avoid spanish withholding tax. But now we have the brokers scuttling the deal by making sure that overseas shareholders will receive all-cash divs & pay the full withholding.


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## londoncalling (Sep 17, 2011)

Thanks Keith and HP. I received a mailout from TEF this week. I have yet to find the time to take a close look at it and how it affects holders of the ADR. Perhaps I will get a chance tomorrow or Friday to talk to my broker about the impact and plans for how this will be dealt with by Questrade. If and when I do find out I will post my findings. I hold my TEF position in my RRSP. That and the relatively small size of the position may impact how, if I have a choice, of how I will opt to receive my payment. TEF is the first and only position I hold that is not listed on Canadian exchanges and I am beginning to wonder if these complications are typical of owning foreign equities. If it is the case I may choose not to put my money here as there are too many things that I cannot keep track of or control.

Cheers!


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## londoncalling (Sep 17, 2011)

The service rep at Questrade said that this transaction was at the shareholder`s discretion and as a client I can request either cash payment in full or the cash portion and the scrip dividend. Since it is an ADR I believe I am subject to the 21% with holding tax. As mentioned in my last post I hold this in an RRSP. Does that make a difference? I have never encountered this situation before. Can someone clarify my choices? The way I understand it is that I should take the scrip dividend to avoid the withholding tax on a small portion of the dividend (.30 Euros).


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

londoncalling said:


> ... The way I understand it is that I should take the scrip dividend to avoid the withholding tax on a small portion of the dividend (.30 Euros).



yes, i believe so. It does seem like more than a "small" portion to me, though, as it's just over 36% of the total dividend.

i hold tef in rrsp also & the spanish NR withholding tax has always been applied to previous dividends.

may i add that your questrade representative clearly deserves an accolade for exceptional knowledge & service. Questrade service does receive knocks & pans from time to time, so it's nice to be able to say Chapeaux !!


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## londoncalling (Sep 17, 2011)

Yes. My experience with Questrade has been ok thus far. As of late it has been much better. I think the key is finding the right customer service rep. I have now found which ones are good and which ones suck. If I get a bad rep I usually just ask a pointless question and then re open the live chat. I also have found that if I am not convinced the rep knows the score I ask to be called from a supervisor.

Thanks for the info you provided and to correct my post 36% is not a small portion just the lesser portion of the dividend. For some odd reason, I am considering averaging down on this one. Even if there is a further dividend cut this company is a large portion of the IBEX and is being hit with a "Spanish" flu. I do realize they have a fair amount of debt but are making huge gains outside of Europe. I see it as a value play. I am still in accumulation phase. It's tough for me right now as I have more stocks that I want to buy than I do funds currently. So many opportunities right now. I am not in a rush as I think these opportunities may be present till fall. Worst case scenario I miss a month or two of the next rally. Hard to decide if I am getting in too soon or too late. I guess that's why one can't time the market.

Cheers!


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## canadian_investor (Jul 4, 2011)

londoncalling said:


> The service rep at Questrade said that this transaction was at the shareholder`s discretion and as a client I can request either cash payment in full or the cash portion and the scrip dividend.


i am struggling with this.
i have chatted with Questrade service reps at least 3 times and all of them denied that I can get scrip dividend as shares instead of cash.
finally they had me submit a corporate action requesting the scrip dividend as shares and not cash.
but yesterday my corporate action got denied with the same reason that questrade is not able to do the script dividend as shares.
at this point i am begining to doubt if i will even get the scrip dividend at all, cash or kind.

londoncalling do you have a confirmed message from questreade saying they will be able to do this?
i have a sinking feeling that on 31st may I will see only the cash deposit in my account, less 21% withholding and less 1.5% for currency exchange


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

canadian_investor said:


> i am struggling with this ... i have a sinking feeling that on 31st may I will see only the cash deposit in my account



canadianinvestor in the end it will be alright about the dividend. You should wind up with part cash & part stock, which is the default option.

i'm not surprised to hear that questrade is not getting it straight. As a matter of fact, most broker representatives are not, at this moment, getting it straight.

here are the links to the documents you should know about.

http://www.telefonica.com/en/shareholders_investors/html/dividendos/cuadro.shtml

in this document telefonica (in spain) announces the 2 dividends it intends to pay this may 2012. One is a cash dividend. It will be USD .691385 per share, subject to spanish withholding tax at 21%.

the other dividend is discussed in paragraph 3 of the above document. It will be payable in cash only if a shareholder so elects. Otherwise the default option, which is a stock dividend, will apply.

this stock dividend will be exempt from spanish withholding tax, although it will be subject to a Citibank administrative fee.

i believe that representatives at several brokerages are greatly confused about this situation & are offering partial or even wrong information. The situation is complicated, but imho it is not dire. Assuming that questrade will deal properly with the 2 dividends, both the new shares & the cash should get pushed into clients' accounts sometime late this month or early in june, regardless of whether the frontline representatives in the call centres are able to discuss the situation accurately or not.

with respect to the above-mentioned stock dividend, here is the Citibank pdf which gives details (please note that it discusses only the stock dividend, it does not discuss the cash dividend):

https://wwss.citissb.com/adr/notices/pgm_dispDividends.aspx?pageId=15&subpageID=113&cusip=879382208


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## londoncalling (Sep 17, 2011)

I submitted corporate action for the scrip as well on Friday. It took awhile for a response which was also denied. I was also a little worried after this occurred as it is my first experience with this type of event. After a call to a rep and a bump up the chain of command I was informed that I need not worry as since the scrip div is the default option shareholders need not to take any corporate action. As a result my fears have subsided. Not so much from the reassurance from the brokerage but from reading the prospectus, HPs post and similar threads on other forums.

Cheers

Edit: not sure what will happen with fractional shares. My assumption(and we all know what assume equates to -- *** u me -) is that the remainder will be paid in cash with the withholding tax deduction. Regardless, worst case scenario I would be stuck with the original cash dividend and withholding tax as I had calculated upon my original purchase.


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## Jets99 (Aug 26, 2011)

So what are opinions on buying TEF at this point considering crazy yield of 17%, PE of 2.8 not to mention it's close to 52 week low. I know Europe is still a mess but I like Telecom globally and still think this is a good company. And how much lower can this go?


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## Dopplegangerr (Sep 3, 2011)

Telefonica has hit a new 52 week low. Good time to buy?


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## londoncalling (Sep 17, 2011)

I averaged down on this one a week ago. A litle too early it would seem. I wish I knew where the bottom is. I do have a little cash yet to deploy for this one but will wait for a significant bottom for the rest of my position. As long as the problems in Europe persist it will keep dropping as it is a fair portion of the IBEX. The problem is that at some point a decision will be made about Greece and Europe. Depending on what that decision is and how the market reacts will determine when the freefall will stop. If earnings continue to drop because people default on their contracts there will be lots of debt for this company. I am prepared for another dividend cut(in fact it may be a good thing). This company has good exposure to Latin and S. America and long term it will do fine. I consider the situation similar to what happened to the US banks during the US crisis. Look at the gains that were made from those that bought then.

Cheers


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## canadian_investor (Jul 4, 2011)

the results of the Telefonica dividend are in and it is not good. in fact it is worse than i had thought.
not only did I not get the scrip dividend in any form (shares or cash), they seem to have hit me with a highly stinky curruncy exchange rate, not to mention the Spanish pirates taking their 21% cut.
finally, to add insult to injury they charged a USD $3.50 "agency processing fee".
all greedy pigs at the trough.
as a result, for my 350 shares, all I got is $181.25 USD dividend and no extra shares.

what about the rest of you people?
anyone have any better results?

lastly, is there any point in raising this with Questrade at all, or will it be a waste of time?


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## Toronto.gal (Jan 8, 2010)

canadian_investor said:


> 1. the Spanish pirates taking their 21% cut.?
> 2. anyone have any better results?


1. LOL, but in that case, why not be a 'canadian _investor' then?
2. Yup, with the Spanish banks [and even NOK at 30% tax]. :biggrin:

TEF is certainly getting very tempting for long-term!


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## canadian_investor (Jul 4, 2011)

Toronto.gal said:


> 2. Yup, with the Spanish banks [and even NOK at 30% tax]. :biggrin:


can you explain how you are getting 30% returns with spanish banks?
from what i can tell their stocks are crashing left right and center.
one of the them was suspended briefly a few days ago.
there is a chance of nationalisation and/or bankruptcy.

which spanish bank are you trading for those kind of profits?

and how are you able to avoid the dividend withholding taxes and currency exhcnage from Euro on the spanish bank dividends?


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## Toronto.gal (Jan 8, 2010)

I did not say I'm making 30% on Spanish banks; I was talking about the higher dividend withholding tax of other countries [Finland @ 30%]. The point I was trying to make, is that there are bigger pirates out there! :rolleyes2:

I have been mostly trading the Spanish banks for quite some time, keeping only a % of shares in the process & have been richly rewarded with the dividends of said shares. I'm holding long-term, so as long as the strongest Spanish/Eurozone bank STD, together with his cousin BBVA, do not go bankrupt, they can go to $1.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

wherefore so bitter, laddie ?
and why so soon, the day is young yet.
have a touch of patience.

i have seen june 6th in several official documents for TEF including citibank's website as the date of payment. 

please keep in mind that there are 2 TEF dividends, one being all-cash & the other being either scrip or it could be converted into cash, depending on the shareholder's election. The default election was scrip. To the best of my knowledge, most brokers including questrade are respecting this.

with both dividends, citibank is charging its processing fee on a per-share basis. This was well announced & well discussed in this forum.

the above-mentioned cash dividend is subjected to the 21% spanish witholding tax. This was also well announced & well discussed in this forum ...


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

Toronto.gal said:


> ... I have been mostly trading the Spanish banks for quite some time, keeping only a % of shares in the process & have been richly rewarded with the dividends of said shares. I'm holding long-term, so as long as the strongest Spanish/Eurozone bank STD, together with his cousin BBVA, do not go bankrupt, they can go to $1.


for a long time i avoided std because of its stock symbol. This turns out to have been a useful prohibition.

now i'm interested, but only in an option spread. I'd do my usual diagonal call spread. It would produce leverage over 1000 std shares, but would cost only 2.20/share, depending on how well i could trade (stk was around 5.22 last i looked).

there's little doubt in my mind but that std will have to reduce its dividend, though. The low price of the long-term LEAPs call i'd be buying as the long leg of my spread is showing that the market is already pricing in zero dividends in the future.


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## Toronto.gal (Jan 8, 2010)

humble_pie said:


> for a long time i avoided std because of its stock symbol. This turns out to have been a useful prohibition.


Oui, je sais, mort de rire. :biggrin:

Actually, the stock symbol always reminded me first, of the abbreviation of the word 'standard' as I use that a lot [and here I was, thinking that brilliant minds thought alike]. 

Of course they will have to cut/reduce the dividend, and I would welcome such a move.

Your option strategy gives food for thought.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

t'es jamais morte, risible ou non.


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## canadian_investor (Jul 4, 2011)

Toronto.gal said:


> I did not say I'm making 30% on Spanish banks; I was talking about the higher dividend withholding tax of other countries [Finland @ 30%]. The point I was trying to make, is that there are bigger pirates out there!


ok ok got you. sorry misunderstood earlier.



> I have been mostly trading the Spanish banks for quite some time, keeping only a % of shares in the process & have been richly rewarded with the dividends of said shares. I'm holding long-term, so as long as the strongest Spanish/Eurozone bank STD, together with his cousin BBVA, do not go bankrupt, they can go to $1.


LOL very pretty charts gotta say.
not for me but have fun.


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## canadian_investor (Jul 4, 2011)

humble_pie said:


> wherefore so bitter, laddie ?
> and why so soon, the day is young yet.
> have a touch of patience.
> 
> ...


i knew about the withholding tax
just sayin that there are too many pigs at the trough.
i did not know about the agent processing fee.

so you are saying that only the cash portion of the regular dividend has been disbursed so far, not the scrip portion [either cash or shares].
that will come on june 6th?
sure i can wait, no rush.
it appears that i will be holding these shares for a long long time anyway


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## Toronto.gal (Jan 8, 2010)

canadian_investor said:


> 1. LOL very pretty charts gotta say.
> 2. not for me but have fun.


1. And the TEF chart is more beautiful than the mentioned banks? They look equally ugly to me. 

But there are benefits to low share prices!

2. Trading is a serious business to me, so I try to limit the fun. Olé.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

Why I like TEF:


> In Latin America, Telefonica battles with American Movil S.A.B. de C.V. (AMX) as the best coverage provider in the region, and they are growing market share in mobile access and broadband. In Brazil TEF is gaining operating leverage with year over year revenue growth of 5.1%, and free cash flow growth of 43%. Latin America accounts for roughly 50% of Telefonica's revenue and nearly 60% of operating income. Because the majority of CAPEX has been spent in Latin America over the last several years, free cash flow should continue to accelerate and these funds should help reduce debt and pay the dividend.


Source
and here is one reason why their stock is getting hammered:


> ...the company found itself in a bidding war over Portugal Telecom's (PT) stake in Vivo, its Brazilian wireless unit. By paying top dollar and adding to the already large debt load, Telefonica has reduced their financial flexibility during this buyer's market in the telecom industry.


I am still holding because I think they will get through this.


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## canadian_investor (Jul 4, 2011)

I received cash distribution from TEF this morning. i suppose this is the scrip dividend.
questrade didn't care a damn about the default option (shares) and neither for my selection and forced the conversion to cash.
they also took an even larger cut this time. $8.50 instead of the $3.50 last time.

has everyone else received the scrip dividend by now?
anyone managed to receive shares?


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

canadian_investor said:


> has everyone else received the scrip dividend by now?
> anyone managed to receive shares?


Yes 8 shares showed up this morning bringing my total to 323.


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## canadian_investor (Jul 4, 2011)

what brokerage are you with if you don't mind?
i'm wondering if it's only questrade that messed up or is it just me that got screwed.

is the processing fee for dividends on ADR stocks also common or is that a questrade only feature as well?
it seems for every distribution on ADR stock they are dinging me with $3.50 US$ and this TEF script dividend they dinged me $8.75 US


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

On the 315 shares, I got a $207 US dividend and a $43.48 withholding in my US margin account at Canaccord. This is down from the $328 last November 16.


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## bettyboop (Dec 13, 2011)

I'm with TDW, 300 shares gave me a 200.99 divy then they took out a 3.00 fee and 42.21 withholding on May 31, yesterday I received 7 shares with a 7.50 fee.


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## canadian_investor (Jul 4, 2011)

a thousand damns. so questrade is the about the only one not able to support the scrip dividend in kind.
i should have guessed they don't have the slightest clue when their customer rep kept saying "script" instead.
their fee also seems to be higher than what ya all are saying, about 50c. more for the regular ADR distribution to $1.25 more for the scrip
and the fact that TEF share price has appreciated by more than 10% in the last 2 weeks since the cash dividend came in makes me feel even more crappy.
sorry for the rant


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

i rec'd the exact no. of shares that i was expecting. No WH tax.

the fee was something like 2.5 pennies per original share held, all thoroughly pre-announced so not any kind of surprise.

i believe the default option, which was to receive shares, worked properly. The way the brokers detailed it in the end, they show cash momentarily arriving in the account, then instantly being removed, to be replaced same day by the shares.

it is possible that questrade is following this same path, but more slowly. That is, the shares are arriving, or will be arriving, some hours or a day later than the flash-cash-deposit-withdrawal.

in any event, it should be possible to question questrade. The transactions were all delivered to the brokers by the CDS system, which in turn was fed by citibank in NYC. So i for one do not see how questrade can possibly deviate from what other brokers are doing, although it might take them an extra day to update.


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## londoncalling (Sep 17, 2011)

I talked to questrade today.... I was assured the scrip would be paid as promised in shares...Most likley in a day or 2.

Canadian Investor... I suggest you relax... You really don't seem to understand your investment.... You get all rowdy when things happen to you "unexpectedly". Maybe the reason you can't find the answers you are looking for are because you don't know what questions to be asking... As HP stated the fee is 2.5 c per share. which is what was stated and also what occurred... I have a feeling you saw a fee, contacted questrade and started throwing out questions... I suggest to you what I told belguy... put your portfolio on auto pilot... go outside take a walk... come back in 10 years... 

It's easy to see how people can make bad choices... they don't understand their investments... then they are mad when the returns don't make sense to them... Everything that has happened so far has been clearly outlined in TEF correspondence...


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

Did they explain the fees? Was this a USD account? Is it a Presidents account?


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## canadian_investor (Jul 4, 2011)

it is almost 2 weeks now since the payable date of scrip dividend.
nothing has changed on my account.
no new shares have appeared.

to make matters worse it has taken questrade a total of 10 entries to process all of this.
my original position is 350 shares.
below are all the entries on my account copied and pasted.

5/31/12 : $185.25 TELEFONICA SA SPONSORED ADR CASH DIV ON 350 SHS REC 05/17/12 PAY 05/31/12 NON-RES TAX WITHHELD
5/31/12 : ($3.50) TELEFONICA SA SPONSORED ADR AGENCY PROCESSING FEE
6/19/12 : $124.05 TELEFONICA SA SPONSORED ADR CASH DIV ON 350 SHS REC 05/17/12 PAY 06/15/12
6/19/12 ($8.75) TELEFONICA SA SPONSORED ADR AGENCY PROCESSING FEE
6/20/12 $98.00 TELEFONICA SA SPONSORED ADR CASH DIV ON 350 SHS REC 05/17/12 PAY 06/15/12 NON-RES TAX WITHHELD
6/20/12 $8.75 TELEFONICA SA SPONSORED ADR AGENCY PROCESSING FEE CXL 6/19 DIV TO ADJ FOREIGN TX
6/20/12 ($8.75) TELEFONICA SA SPONSORED ADR AGENCY PROCESSING FEE
6/20/12 ($124.05) TELEFONICA SA SPONSORED ADR CASH DIV ON 350 SHS REC 05/17/12 PAY 06/15/12 CXL 6/19 DIV TO ADJ FOREIGN TX

so after all these adjustments for errors of omission and commission i netted $89.25 for the scrip dividend.

i would like to hear from anyone with questrade (londoncalling ?) who have managed to receive the shares instead of cash.
if anyone has received the shares at questrade I can then make a case for them to fix this.
if not then i guess I am s.o.l.


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## londoncalling (Sep 17, 2011)

Hi there CI.... 

My account is similar. My transactions are thus far the same.... When I checked with them on Friday (I was assured that at the end of it all I would receive my scrip shares). This hasn't happened yet... These things can take some time. I plan to give it till Friday... I'll keep you posted...


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## venter (Apr 10, 2009)

Telecom Corporation of New Zealand announced that for second half of fiscal 2012, the Company confirmed that it remains on track to deliver adjusted EBITDA guidance of around NZD 560 million. In addition, it also announced that it intends to delist its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and notes that its shares and ADRs will not be listed or quoted on another national securities exchange in the United States. Telecom ADRs' last day of trading on the NYSE is expected to be July 9, 2012 and the delisting is expected to become effective on July 19, 2012. 

What will happen to the shares people own at time of delisting?


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

new zealand telecom's shares will most likely continue to trade in US over-the-counter markets.

here's a link to a barron's article about the big upcoming change for NZT:

http://blogs.barrons.com/incomeinve...-plans-to-drop-nyse-listing/?mod=yahoobarrons

if you're here in canada, what you might find is that, depending on which OTC level the NZ telco's shares go to, it might not be possible for you to sell these shares online. You would have to phone a licensed rep. This could mean a higher commission.


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## londoncalling (Sep 17, 2011)

just to give you an update canuck invest...

no scrip shares in my account as of today... I talked with the front line stuff... What I was told was that the transaction may have been delayed with the move to the new platforms... I gave them a 1 week deadline... any news on your side?


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## canadian_investor (Jul 4, 2011)

venter said:


> What will happen to the shares people own at time of delisting?


i got a notice in the mail from NZT that the shares will trade on the OTC.
it said nothing else changes including dividends, voting.
i don't care for that, i sold my shares this morning for the same price that i bought. the in/out commissions are a loss.
what a waste.


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## canadian_investor (Jul 4, 2011)

londoncalling said:


> just to give you an update canuck invest...
> no scrip shares in my account as of today... I talked with the front line stuff... What I was told was that the transaction may have been delayed with the move to the new platforms... I gave them a 1 week deadline... any news on your side?


no, nothing.
i don't think any shares are going to appear, it is now nearly a month.
what will they do if in the meantime someone has used up the cash?
i will probably wait another week and then use the cash for something else.


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## Islenska (May 4, 2011)

CanadianInvestor
I'm with Action Direct (RBC) my timeline with TEFis
May 31st cash div $1038
June 13 52 shares
June 21 fee $50 .025/share
Haven't really dug into it.............(on 2000 shares)


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## canadian_investor (Jul 4, 2011)

ok wow so it sounds like Questrade is the only one among canadian brokeerages that is not able to do the scrip dividend as shares.

londoncalling, I think this is it....no more hope left now.
now, the customer rep that I spoke to initially way back did say Questrade won't be able to do the shares.
he has no explanation why.


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