U Mobile has announced that its foreign shareholder Straits Mobile Investment Pte Ltd (wholly owned by ST Telemedia) has agreed to the strategic alignment of its shareholding ownership to 20% from its 49% majority stake, this was inline with the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission’s statement that the telco which was awarded the second 5G license would be looking to increase its local partners shareholding.
In a statement released today, U Mobile said while foreign ownership is common in the telco sector, the telco’s strategy is to prioritises Malaysian industry development and strengthening of local ownership. It noted the increased local partnership
supports the group’s dedication to national interests.
However, the group has not revealed the new shareholding structure, yesterday the other major shareholder Berjaya Corporation Chairman Tan Sri Vincent Tan argued that U Mobile did not receive any special privilege in winning the second 5G bid and that it will be funding the rollout with its own funds and not the public’s.
The telco also said it is confident that it will be able to deliver rapid and cost efficient 5G rollout for Malaysia. Despite, being the most recent entrant and market challenger to the industry, U Mobile said its subscriber base reached 9 million customers at the end 2023. With more than RM5 billion invested in its network infrastructure, U Mobile currently has over 10,000 network sites and its national population coverage stands at 95%, on par with itsindustry peers, supported by a staff strength of over 1,000 Malaysian employees.
The Single Wholesale Network (SWN) model was introduced in 2021, designated by Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), a wholly owned unit of the Ministry of Finance, to be the sole operator responsible for managing and providing wholesale 5G network services to all mobile network operators (MNOs).
By establishing a second network, Malaysia moves away from a monopolistic model towards a comprehensive competitive landscape. Over the years, competition in the telecommunications industry has always led to improved and cheaper services to consumers. Competition also forces telcos to innovate products and capabilities.
