Telcos set for bigger say as DNB ownership transition nears

Malaysia's leading telecommunications companies, CelcomDigi, Maxis, and YTL Power, are poised to assume greater influence over Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) as it transitions to a new ownership model.

Following the completion of a RM5.2 billion financing round, the Ministry of Finance Inc will exit its ordinary shareholding while retaining a special share regarding strategic matters.

The restructuring is expected by early Q4 2026, and aims to enhance DNB's efficiency in 5G rollout amid an industry shift towards cost optimisation.

While DNB plans to drive 5G adoption especially in industrial sectors, its long-term technology partnerships, such as with Ericsson, remain influential.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — Malaysia’s major telcos are set to gain a bigger say over Digital Nasional Bhd’s direction as the wholesale 5G operator moves closer to a new ownership structure led by CelcomDigi, Maxis and YTL Power.

The transition follows DNB’s completion of a RM5.2 billion financing exercise, paving the way for the Ministry of Finance Inc (MOF Inc) to exit as an ordinary shareholder.

CelcomDigi, Maxis and YTL are expected to hold equal stakes in DNB, while MOF Inc will retain a special share covering key strategic matters. The transition is reportedly expected to be completed in early Q4 2026.

The change will give the mobile-network operators a larger role in steering DNB at a time when the telecommunications sector is under growing pressure to improve costs and network efficiency.

CGS International Research said earlier this month that once the share transfer is completed, the shareholders would be able to streamline DNB’s operations to minimise losses and improve the efficiency of the 5G rollout.

BIMB Research also recently said Malaysia’s telecommunications sector was increasingly shifting towards cost optimisation and disciplined execution as growth in the consumer segment remained modest.

Analyst Jamil Ghani, a PhD student at S Rajaratnam School for International Studies, said this could gradually change how DNB weighs its commercial and technology decisions.

“Future technology decisions are more likely to be driven by cost, performance, contract renewals, enterprise demand, interoperability, regulatory requirements and the transition towards 5G-Advanced and eventually 6G.”

However, he said it remained unclear whether the change would translate into any immediate shift in DNB’s technology suppliers.

“Ericsson’s 10-year partnership with DNB began in 2021,” he said, noting that it leaves roughly five years of existing commitments that would still have to be factored into future decisions.

DNB is now moving into a new phase focused on driving greater 5G adoption among businesses and industries.

Speaking on Oct 19, communications minister Fahmi Fadzil urged DNB to step up efforts to promote its 5G infrastructure to multinational companies, particularly secure and reliable connectivity solutions amid growing geopolitical uncertainty.

He also said that the government no longer held any financial obligations to DNB and has ruled out further state support.

DNB chief executive Azman Ismail said the company would work with its mobile-network operator shareholders, customers and technology partners to bring more practical 5G applications to market, including in manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, education, agriculture and smart cities.

He said high-quality and resilient connectivity would become increasingly important as businesses adopt more data-intensive and AI-powered applications at scale.

DNB was initially set up in 2021 as a wholly government-owned vehicle to build and operate Malaysia’s 5G network.

The government then announced a shift to a dual-network model in 2023. U Mobile was selected to build the second network, using China’s Huawei and ZTE technology.

MOF originally held a 35 per cent share in DNB. By Aug 2025, MOF Inc’s interest had risen to 41.67 per cent, while CelcomDigi, Maxis and YTL each held 19.44 per cent, following U Mobile’s exit from DNB’s shareholding. But in Dec 2025, MOF Inc subsequently exercised its put option, requiring CelcomDigi, Maxis and YTL Power to acquire its remaining equity and shareholder advances.

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马来西亚领先的电信公司 CelcomDigi、Maxis 和 YTL Power 将在 Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) 向新的所有权模式过渡的过程中，对其施加更大的影响。

在完成 52 亿令吉的融资后，财政部将退出其普通股持股，但保留用于战略事项的特殊股份。

预计重组将于 2026 年第四季度初完成，旨在提高 DNB 在 5G 部署方面的效率，以应对行业向成本优化转变的趋势。

尽管DNB计划推动5G在工业领域的应用，但其与爱立信等公司的长期技术合作关系仍然具有影响力。

吉隆坡，10 月 21 日讯——随着马来西亚 5G 批发运营商 Digital Nasional Bhd 向由 CelcomDigi、Maxis 和 YTL Power 领导的新所有权结构迈进，马来西亚的主要电信公司将对 Digital Nasional Bhd 的发展方向拥有更大的发言权。

此次过渡是在DNB完成52亿令吉融资计划之后进行的，为财政部有限公司（MOF Inc）作为普通股东退出铺平了道路。

预计CelcomDigi、Maxis和YTL将持有DNB的等额股份，而MOF Inc将保留一股特殊股份，用于处理关键战略事务。据报道，此次过渡预计将于2026年第四季度初完成。

这一变化将使移动网络运营商在引导DNB方面发挥更大的作用，而此时电信行业正面临着提高成本和网络效率的越来越大的压力。

CGS International Research 本月早些时候表示，一旦股份转让完成，股东将能够简化 DNB 的运营，以最大限度地减少损失并提高 5G 推广的效率。

BIMB Research 最近也表示，由于消费者领域的增长依然温和，马来西亚电信行业正日益转向成本优化和严格执行。

S Rajaratnam国际研究学院的博士生、分析师Jamil Ghani表示，这可能会逐渐改变DNB权衡其商业和技术决策的方式。

“未来的技术决策更有可能受到成本、性能、合同续签、企业需求、互操作性、监管要求以及向 5G-Advanced 和最终向 6G 过渡等因素的驱动。”

但他表示，目前还不清楚这一变化是否会立即转化为DNB技术供应商的任何变动。

“爱立信与荷兰中央银行的十年合作关系始于 2021 年，”他说道，并指出这意味着还有大约五年的现有承诺仍需纳入未来的决策考量。

DNB 现已进入新阶段，重点是推动 5G 在企业和行业中的更广泛应用。

10 月 19 日，通信部长法赫米·法齐尔敦促 DNB 加大力度向跨国公司推广其 5G 基础设施，尤其是在地缘政治不确定性日益加剧的情况下，推广安全可靠的连接解决方​​案。

他还表示，政府不再对DNB承担任何财政义务，并已排除进一步提供国家支持的可能性。

DNB首席执行官阿兹曼·伊斯梅尔表示，该公司将与其移动网络运营商股东、客户和技术合作伙伴合作，将更多实用的5G应用推向市场，包括制造业、物流、医疗保健、教育、农业和智慧城市等领域。

他表示，随着企业大规模采用更多数据密集型和人工智能驱动的应用程序，高质量和高可靠性的连接将变得越来越重要。

DNB 最初于 2021 年成立，是一家完全由政府拥有的公司，负责建设和运营马来西亚的 5G 网络。

随后，政府宣布将于 2023 年过渡到双网络模式。U Mobile 被选中建设第二个网络，采用中国华为和中兴的技术。

MOF最初持有DNB 35%的股份。到2025年8月，MOF Inc.的持股比例增至41.67%，而CelcomDigi、Maxis和YTL各持有19.44%的股份，这是由于U Mobile退出了DNB的股权投资。但在2025年12月，MOF Inc.行使了其认沽期权，要求CelcomDigi、Maxis和YTL Power收购其剩余的股权和股东预付款。

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