KUALA LUMPUR (May 26): Axiata Group Bhd will announce its position to sell or keep its 28.5% stake in Singapore-based telecommunications firm M1 Ltd in the third quarter of 2017 (3QFY17), according to its president and group chief executive officer Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim.

"We aim to come to a conclusion on whether to sell our stake [in M1 Ltd] or to remain in the company by the third quarter this year," he said when speaking to reporters, after Axiata's annual general meeting today.

Axiata, along with two other key shareholders of M1 Ltd — Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation Ltd — had announced a strategic review of their respective shareholdings in the company in March this year.

"[Axiata, SPH and Keppel] are not in a rush [to sell the stake], as we have strong balance sheets at the moment," Jamaludin said, adding that the shareholders participate in a working committee on a weekly or fortnightly basis, to discuss the potential of selling the stake.

Meanwhile, Jamaludin said the group's decisions to rope in strategic investors such as Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP) for its telecommunications tower unit edotco Group Sdn Bhd and Mitsui Co Ltd for its Cambodia operations was to reduce its U.S. dollar-denominated debt which he added currently stands at 54% of its RM 2.4 billion debt.

Its Cambodia unit Axiata Investments (Cambodia) Ltd had entered into a share purchase agreement this month with Mitsui and its subsidiary M&Y Asia Telecom Holdings Pte Ltd (MY Asia) to sell a 10% stake in Smart Axiata Co Ltd for US$66 million (RM285.54 million).

In April, Axiata also placed out 136.63 million shares in edotco Group Sdn Bhd to KWAP for US$100 million (RM440.95 million).

Last December, Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ) purchased respective shares in edotco for US$600 million.

Axiata's shares closed 4 sen higher at RM5.02, for a market capitalisation of RM45.05 billion.