KUALA LUMPUR: XOX Bhd top executive confirms that the company has been approached by one of China's top telecommunications (telco) groups to build the fifth-generation (5G) wireless mobile network in Malaysia with an investment of up to RM10 billion.
XOX chief executive officer Ng Kok Hen declined to name the company but said it was among the top three mobile groups in China.
"We are waiting for the proposal and will make the appropriate announcement soon. The 5G is a direction we are moving into to diversify our revenue stream. If the deal goes through, the investment will be spread out over five to six years and the Chinese group will develop the infrastructure," he told the New Straits Times (NST).
The NST reported yesterday that a large telecom provider from China was believed to be working on a plan with XOX to build the 5G network in Malaysia, with an investment of up to RM10 billion.
Sources with knowledge on the matter had said that the deal was being brokered by a China-based venture capitalist and that XOX would receive the letter of intent this month.
The top three telecom groups in China are China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom and they are investing a few billion dollars to roll out their 5G across China.
China Telecom and China Unicom two months ago announced a partnership with Swedish comms tech giant Ericsson to deploy 5G radio system products and systems, including spectrum-sharing technology.
5G is a new global wireless standard after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks.
5G enables a new kind of network that is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices.
The United States, China and South Korea, are leading the world in building and deploying 5G technology.
Some of the key players in global 5G infrastructure market include Qualcomm, Samsung, Huawei, Verizon Communications, Cisco, AT& T, ZTE, and China Mobile.
Shares of XOX traded heavily again today, surging 3.5 sen to hit a four-year high of 18.5 sen in afternoon trade.
It ended the day 20 per cent, or three sen, higher to 18 sen.
Last week XOX announced a micro-finance partnership with Wetek Technology (M) Sdn Bhd, whose directors are Howard Leung Hao, also chairman and CEO of Brilliant (Hong Kong) Holdings Ltd, and Liang Zeng, an internet entrepreneur and venture capitalist.
XOX said its subsidiary XOX Media Sdn Bhd had inked an agreement with Wetek, to provide micro-financing to the tune of RM1 billion to its existing 2.2 million subscribers in Malaysia.
The service will be extended to individuals and small businesses without access to conventional banking and related services by populating XOX's eWallet for usage in the XOX Digital Marketplace.
It is believed that Leung Hao and Liang Zeng are brokering the deal between the Chinese telecom group and XOX.