KUALA LUMPUR: A new substantial shareholder, linked to Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka-Shing, has emerged in XOX Bhd, which is focusing on fifth-generation (5G) wireless mobile network development in Malaysia.
XOX, in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, said Daniel Tam now owns 7.05 per cent of the company.
Tam is a shareholder and director of a large conglomerate listed in Hong Kong, in which Ka-Shing holds a substantial stake.
It is unknown if Tam, who is also director of Hong Kong-listed Chong Kin Group Holdings Ltd, took a stake in XOX to ride on the company's 5G development plan here, or if he is acting as a proxy for Ka-Shing.
Nicknamed Superman, Ka-shing has a net worth of US$26.5 billion as of July 21 this year, according to Forbes.
One of the most influential businessmen in Asia, he retired as chairman of CK Hutchison Holdings and CK Asset Holdings in May 2018 but remains senior advisor.
XOX chief executive officer Ng Kok Hen, when contacted, said Tam had been gradually increasing his stake in the company.
Shares of XOX have traded actively since early this month, surging to as high as 20.5 sen on July 21.
The stock closed one sen higher today at 18.5 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM293 million. Some 310 million shares exchanged hands.
XOX plans to develop the 5G network in Malaysia in partnership with one of China's top three telecommunications (telecom) groups.
The telecom groups are China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom.
Ng said on Monday that the company had been approached by a Chinese telecom group for the 5G plan, which would invest up to RM10 billion to develop the infrastructure over five to six years.
5G is a new global wireless standard after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks.
It enables a new kind of network that is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices.