Beneficiaries of MyDigital initiative
PETALING JAYA: The government’s MyDigital initiative is expected to benefit telecommunication companies (telcos) and technology-related players, with Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) poised to be the main beneficiary.
Apart from TM and the four other listed telcos namely Axiata Group Bhd, Maxis Bhd, Digi.com Bhd and TIME Dotcom Bhd, TA Securities Research said companies providing related infrastructure and support services are also on the list of potential beneficiaries.
The MyDigital blueprint, which was unveiled on Feb 19, not only focuses on rolling out 5G Internet connectivity but also aims to enhance the usage of cloud services across the government, ensure full adoption of digital signature by the public sector and undertake the full implementation of the National Digital Identity, among others.
As such, TA Securities Research said the list of potential beneficiaries of MyDigital would include listed e-government services providers, cashless payment solutions providers, cybersecurity services providers as well as information technology solutions providers.
“Overall, we expect the digitalisation agenda to spur opportunities within the sector over the near to medium term. Thus, we maintain our ‘overweight’ stance on the telecommunications and technology sector.
“For exposure to the sector, we continue to advocate Axiata for its regional footprint in growth markets as well as prospects of unlocking value from its digital and infrastructure businesses, ” the research house said in a note.
Meanwhile, Kenanga Research said TM would be the main beneficiary of the MyDigital initiative through the growth in its data segment and the leasing of fibre infrastructure for 5G deployment.
“We pencil in higher growth assumptions for TM’s fixed broadband and data segment, marginally increasing earnings by 4% in the financial year 2021 (FY21) and up to 20% in FY25, ” it said. As for the entire telecommunications sector, the research house expects MyDigital to have a neutral impact.
In a separate note, CGS-CIMB Research said the MyDigital initiative will largely have a neutral impact on mobile operators, while TM would be a beneficiary.
“This reaffirms our preference for fixed over mobile, given the former’s multiple growth drivers and relatively more benign competition, ” it said.
CGS-CIMB Research pointed out that the government targets for 80% of public data to be migrated to the hybrid cloud by end-2022, as mentioned under the MyDigital blueprint.
“In general, we view this as a longer-term positive for TM, as it should drive demand for its existing data centres (and potentially trigger the development of new ones), plus demand for fibre connectivity to and from the data centres.
“TM should also stand to benefit from the leasing of its fibre transmission network (backhaul and backbone) to the special-purpose vehicle (SPV) for 5G rollouts, ” it said.
https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2021/02/23/beneficiaries-of-mydigital-initiative
