DNB closes approximately $1.27B as 5G ownership shifts

Digital Nasional Berhad builds and operates the shared 5G network that Malaysian mobile carriers plug into before selling service to consumers and businesses. The unlisted company completed approximately $1.27 billion of syndicated Islamic term financing, giving it longer-term capital as Malaysia moves through a dual-network transition.

The facility refinances DNB’s government-guaranteed revolving credit line, which expired September 29, and establishes longer-term funding for future network growth. Figures are in US dollars, converted at October 1, 2026 reference rates.

DNB is infrastructure behind the retail carriers, not a phone plan sold directly to households. It combines radio equipment, power and fiber in a common access network; licensed operators connect that layer to their own core networks and buy wholesale coverage and capacity. Several carriers can therefore share spectrum and network infrastructure instead of duplicating a national 5G build.

The financing is also part of an ownership handoff. DNB said Malaysia’s Minister of Finance Inc. plans to exit as an ordinary shareholder, with CelcomDigi, Maxis and YTL Power International expected to take equal ownership early in the fourth quarter. The government will retain a special share for oversight of strategic matters.

At the same time, DNB said the communications regulator awarded it the full 100 megahertz between 3.3 and 3.4 gigahertz and converted its entire 240-megahertz holding into a spectrum assignment effective October 1. The company says the allocation can add capacity and support technologies including carrier aggregation and 5G Advanced.

The new debt changes how DNB is funded, but it doesn’t create wholesale demand. MalaysianWireless reports that the three telecom shareholders will increasingly bear the effect of DNB’s future profits or losses. With U Mobile operating Malaysia’s second 5G wholesale network, carrier traffic now has another destination, while DNB’s wholesale revenue must cover its network and financing costs.