KUALA LUMPUR: The long awaited share sale agreement between Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) and five mobile network operators (MNOs) was signed today, with the five agreeing to collectively pump in RM1.165 billion, for a 14 per cent interest each in DNB.
Infranation Sdn Bhd for CelcomDigi Bhd (CelcomDigi), Maxis Broadband Sdn Bhd, U Mobile Sdn Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) and YTL Power International Bhd (YTL) all agreed to pay RM233 million each for their stakes.
The remaining 30 per cent interest will be held by the government through the Minister of Finance (Incorporated) (MOF Inc).
An event commemorating the SSAs signing was held at TRX Exchange 106 with the Minister of Communications and Digital, Fahmi Fadzil, as guest of honour.
At the event, Fahmi said: "As of the Oct 31, we have reached 73 per cent CoPA, which means we have seven per cent left until we reach its target.
"We (KKD) and also the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), will continue to monitor the implementation so that there are no problems arising.
"The task force or special authority that we established in May will invite all parties to discuss it to ensure that no problems arise that we cannot solve together," he said.
Meanwhile, CelcomDigi chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Idham Nawawi said the signing of SSA underscores the strong sector-wide commitment towards realising the government's ambition of a dual network 5G model and as a lever towards powering Malaysia's ambitions for the digital economy.
"The shift to an industry-led model will be instrumental in achieving a successful roll-out in Malaysia by leveraging the collective assets and resources of the telco industry and in building a solid platform for future technological evolution and service innovation," Idham said.
DNB is entrusted with the rollout of the 5G network to 80 per cent of populated areas in the country.
It will complete the integration and onboarding of 7,509 sites, maintain the network in terms of performance and service level agreements (SLAs) in the signed access agreements, as well as serve all of its customers.
The money pumped into DNB will be used to meet its funding requirements. "The execution of the SSAs by the MNOs marked a significant achievement by the Task Force for the Implementation of 5G Dual Network in Malaysia (5G Task Force), whose members comprise representatives from the Finance Ministry, the Communications and Digital Ministry, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), DNB as well as the MNOs," DNB said in a statement.
The 5G Task Force was established on May 9, 2023 with the objective to ensure the smooth transition from the Single Wholesale Network (SWN) model to the Dual Network (DN) model.
The SSAs are expected to be completed between February and April 2024.