KUALA LUMPUR, 18 JANUARY 2010 -- Malaysia Debt Ventures (MDV), an agency under the Malaysian Ministry of Finance, has injected US$14.94 million (RM50 million) into local WiMAX firm P1’s continued expansion of its 4G WiMAX service throughout Malaysia.
MDV managing director and chief executive officer, Md Zubir Ansori Yahaya, said P1 (Packet One Networks Malaysia) would receive the loan—to be repaid over 48 months—to speed up the expansion of its WiMAX (worldwide interoperability for microwave access) network infrastructure throughout the nation.
“Having identified broadband as one of the high growth sectors in ICT [information and communications technology], we actively support P1’s initiatives with the establishment of its infrastructure as part of the strategy to encourage economic growth in Malaysia,” said Zubir.
As Malaysia’s financier and development facilitator of ICT, biotech and other high growth sectors in Malaysia, MDV financing solutions and nurturing initiatives help locally incorporated companies to spur growth within these sectors.
P1's strong performance
P1’s performance has made it a strong candidate to receive funding from MDV, said P1 chief executive officer, Michael Lai.
“This funding from MDV will further boost our progress towards becoming the country’s leading wireless broadband provider. 2010 will be a great year for P1, where we will be expanding our 4G WiMAX service to East Malaysia, making P1 Malaysia’s only true nationwide WiMAX operator,” said Lai.
“In addition to that, we will be introducing exciting embedded devices this year to usher in the year of WiMAX where we realise a truly connected world,” he said.
Lai added that by the end of 2009, the Packet One WiMAX network has already been deployed to more than 600 sites, covering areas in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, Kedah, Perak, Terengganu, Pahang and Johor, representing more than 35 per cent of West Malaysia’s population.
P1 is on track to achieve 45 per cent coverage of West Malaysia’s population by the end 2010, and 65 per cent of the entire Malaysian population by the end of 2012,” he said. “We strongly believe that with sufficient coverage, Malaysia will move faster up the value chain, in line with the government’s target of reaching 50 per cent penetration for broadband by the end of 2010,” said Lai.
“We are also proud to be part of P1’s impressive growth and progress in accelerating the Malaysian ICT industry. We believe this new partnership will open doors to better opportunities in the future,” said MDV’s Zubir.
