Maxis delays seeking shareholder approval for 5G access deal

Malaysian mobile network operator (MNO) Maxis informed the stock exchange that it will hold off from seeking shareholder approval for its proposed Access Agreement (AA) with Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB). With Maxis being the sole holdout among the nation’s cellcos when it comes to the AA, it revealed back in November 2022 that it intended to seek the approval of its shareholders before putting pen to paper on any access deal, saying that the ‘the nature of the AA and the substantial undertaking involved’ made such a course of action ‘mandatory’.

Although the company had initially suggested that it could finalise its AA with DNB – the country’s sole 5G network operator – in January 2023, in an announcement to the Bursa Malaysia late last week Maxis said it now felt it was ‘prudent’ to delay seeking shareholder approval for the agreement until after the Malaysian government’s review of the country’s 5G network implementation policy is concluded. As previously reported by CommsUpdate, last month Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s new prime minister, confirmed that his administration was to launch a review of the country’s state-owned 5G network strategy, and the government’s review is currently expected to be tabled before the Malaysian Cabinet by the end of the first quarter of 2023.

Maxis has, meanwhile, stressed that it ‘remains committed to realising the country’s digital ambitions and believes in the benefits that 5G will bring to businesses, customers, and the government in strengthening Malaysia’s competitiveness in the region’.