KUALA LUMPUR (May 7): Telekom Malaysia Bhd is expected to be a "serious contender" in the Malaysian mobile telecommunication sphere after the fixed-line champion rebranded its mobile arm, The Edge Malaysia business and investment weekly (Edge Weekly) reported.

Edge Weekly reported in its latest May 9 to 15 issue that the rebranding of Telekom Malaysia's mobile arm Packet One Networks (M) Sdn Bhd (P1) to Webe was indication of Telekom Malaysia's commitment to expand into the mobile sphere.

"Telekom Malaysia is expected to join the fray later this year as it tries its hand at quad-play. No date has been announced yet but the rebranding of its mobile arm from P1 to Webe was completed last month. 

"The latter is expected to be a serious contender with Telekom Malaysia's balance sheet and infrastructure to back it up," Edge Weekly reported.

P1 is jointly owned by Telekom Malaysia, Green Packet Bhd and South Korea-based SK Telecom. Malaysia's major mobile telecommunication companies are Axiata Group Bhd, Digi.Com Bhd and Maxis Bhd.  

Telekom Malaysia told Edge Weekly that it was mindful of the competitive local telecomunication sector. But Telekom Malaysia also emphasised on its market position as a "holistic convergence service" provider.

Such positioning will enable Telekom Malaysia to differentiate itself in the market, according to the company. 

"The broadband space is full of competition not only from mobile operators, LTE (Long Term Evolution) operators and other high-speed broadband providers.

"Telekom Malaysia as a group aspires to be Malaysia’s true convergence champion, differentiating ourselves from the pack by providing a holistic convergence service,” Telekom Malaysia said.

Yesterday, Telekom Malaysia shares fell two sen or 0.3% to RM6.63 for a market capitalisation of RM24.92 billion. Telekom Malaysia shares had fallen 2.21% this year versus the FBM KLCI's 2.55% decline.

Malaysian state-owned investment arm Khazanah Nasional Bhd is a common shareholder in Telekom Malaysia and Axiata with 28.65% and 38.21% stakes respectively.

For a better understanding on the Malaysian telecommunication sector, kindly pick up and read the latest Edge Weekly issue.

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