CIMB Overweight On Telco After Significant Quality Improvement

BusinessToday

5 days ago

CIMB Investment Bank Bhd (CIMB Securities) has maintained an OVERWEIGHT call on Malaysia's telecommunications sector, with BUY ratings on Axiata Group, CelcomDigi, Maxis and Telekom Malaysia, citing significant improvements in mobile and fibre broadband coverage and quality of service (QoS) across the country.
The sector's performance has been driven by the successful implementation of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission's (MCMC) Jalinan Digital Negara (Jendela) programme. As of end-2024, 4G population coverage has reached 98.7%, with most states nearing full coverage, while the number of fibre premises passed has surged to 9 million, achieving the Jendela Phase 2 target a year ahead of schedule.
CIMB Securities highlighted that mobile network operators have largely met the MCMC's Mandatory Standards on Quality of Service (MSQoS), with Opensignal data showing improved average download speeds at 34 Mbps for 4G and 228 Mbps for 5G, both comfortably above the 10 Mbps MSQoS threshold. However, some non-compliance issues persist.
In the first quarter of 2025 alone, the MCMC issued 135 notices out of 1,257 testing sessions, and over 2023–24, a total of RM6.6 million in compounds was issued for 46 unresolved incidents.
Despite these isolated setbacks, the report noted that telcos have made substantial strides in narrowing the coverage gap in East Malaysia. Between the second quarter of 2020 and end-2024, 4G coverage in the region rose from around 73–74% to between 91–94%. Latency for fibre broadband also remains low, with Speedtest reporting a 7 ms average in June 2025, well within the MSQoS requirement of 50 ms.
CIMB Securities warned that failure to maintain wide-reaching, reliable services could expose telcos to environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, such as regulatory penalties or reputational damage. These risks could include spectrum bid disadvantages, customer churn or brand erosion, particularly if companies are perceived as less inclusive or socially responsible.
Globally, Malaysia ranked sixth in Asia for mobile network experience and ninth for fixed broadband, according to Opensignal and Speedtest. The house attributed the lower fixed broadband ranking to market subscription patterns rather than infrastructure deficiencies, pointing out that all major providers offer plans up to 2 Gbps.
CIMB Securities' top picks in the sector include Maxis with a target price of RM4.15, CelcomDigi at RM4.10, Telekom Malaysia at RM7.55, and Axiata at RM2.55. Time dotCom was rated a 'Hold' with a target price of RM5.30.
Related