With this new capital injection, every telco’s complete contribution to DNB has risen to roughly MYR350 million
In sum – what to know:
$82.8M added to DNB – CelcomDigi, Maxis, and YTL Energy elevated their stakes to stabilize operations, pushing complete funding to over MYR1 billion.
Second 5G community danger – U Cellular’s new community may draw clients away from DNB, creating strain on income sustainability.
Future funding probably – DNB acknowledged additional capital could also be wanted, whereas MOF prepares to exit its shareholding later this yr.
Malaysian operators CelcomDigi, Maxis and YTL Energy Worldwide have dedicated a further MYR350 million ($82.8 million) into Malaysia’s state-run 5G wholesale community operator Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), as the corporate faces rising monetary strain forward of the launch of a second 5G community oin the Asian nation.
Current regulatory filings revealed that every of the three corporations will contribute MYR116.67 million below their share subscription agreements, which have been finalized in June 2024. That preliminary deal noticed CelcomDigi, Maxis, and YTL every make investments MYR233.33 million to safe 19.44% stakes in DNB.
With this new capital injection, every telco’s complete contribution to DNB has risen to roughly MYR350 million, bringing their mixed funding to only over MYR1 billion. The nation’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) presently holds the remaining 41.67% stake in DNB.
CelcomDigi defined that the extra capital is meant to assist DNB’s day-to-day operations, assist its 5G rollout, and stabilize its monetary footing. Maxis added that the transfer wouldn’t materially have an effect on its monetary outcomes. Nevertheless, the regulator filings warned that the rollout of the nation’s second 5G community by U Cellular’s may divert clients from DNB, undermining income and long-term viability.
DNB itself has acknowledged that additional capital injections could also be required sooner or later to maintain tempo with rising demand and aggressive pressures in Malaysia’s cellular market.
The event follows U Cellular’s determination in Might 2025 to exit DNB, promoting its 16.28% holding to the opposite stakeholders and the federal government.
In accordance with the filings, the MOF intends to divest its whole 41.67% shareholding in DNB to CelcomDigi, Maxis and YTL Energy by November 12, 2025, except an alternate association is agreed.
In November 2024, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Fee (MCMC) gave the approval to deploy the second 5G community to U Cellular, the third-largest operator within the nation. U Cellular beforehand chosen Chinese language distributors Huawei and ZTE as its key expertise companions to construct a brand new 5G community within the nation.
In Might 2023, Malaysian authorities had mentioned that the nation would shift to a twin 5G community as soon as DNB achieved 80% protection in populated areas, one thing that occurred in December 2023.
The federal government of Malaysia had additionally revoked a earlier ministerial path of 2021, which had designated DNB as the only entity chargeable for Malaysia’s 5G deployment.
DNB was arrange by the Malaysian authorities in 2021 as a particular objective automobile to develop the nation’s 5G community infrastructure, which non-public telecommunications corporations are presently utilizing to supply 5G companies to their clients. DNB’s 5G community was deployed by Ericsson.
As of right this moment, all operators in Malaysia are providing 5G service in Malaysia through DNB.
