Malaysian Telcos Take 70 Percent Equity Stake in DNB

Malaysia’s five Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) – CelcomDigi through Infranation, Maxis, U Mobile, Telekom Malaysia (TM), and YTL Power International (YTL) – signed share subscription agreements (SSAs) on Friday to acquire equity in the 5G wholesale operator Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB).

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Also Read: Malaysia to Allow Second 5G Network Deployment, Telcos Respond

Strategic Collaboration

The five operators have collectively agreed to hold a 70 percent stake in DNB, with each MNO taking a 14 percent share. The Malaysian Government, represented by the Ministry of Finance (MOF), will retain the remaining 30 percent and hold a special share. According to DNB, the signing of the SSAs will also lead to each MNO investing around RM 233 million, which will be utilised to meet DNB’s funding requirements.

Also Read: Telekom Malaysia Announces Termination of Share Subscription Agreement with DNB

Implementation of 5G Dual Network

The execution of SSAs by the mobile operators marks a significant achievement by the Task Force for the implementation of the 5G Dual Network in Malaysia (5G Task Force). The Task Force members comprise representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Communications and Digital, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), DNB, as well as the MNOs.

As reported by TelecomTalk, the 5G Task Force was established by the Government on May 9, 2023, with the objective of ensuring the smooth transition from the Single Wholesale Network (SWN) model to the Dual Network (DN) model.