15 Feb 2024
MAYBANK ISLAMIC AND TM FORGE PARTNERSHIP TO DELIVER FIRST ISLAMIC BANKING AS A SERVICE SOLUTION POWERED BY 5G
KUALA LUMPUR, 15 FEBRUARY 2024: Maybank Islamic Berhad and TM, the nation’s leaders in Islamic banking and telecommunications, have forged a partnership to deliver the country’s first Islamic Banking as a Service (BaaS) solution powered by 5G. Designed for consumers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), this collaboration combines the best of Maybank Islamic’s diverse financial services and TM’s recognised Uni5G Postpaid Biz mobile packages, creating seamless access and experiences for today’s digital customers.
With local entrepreneurs and MSMEs to gain the most, Maybank Islamic and Unifi Business, TM’s digital business solutions arm, today launched their inaugural ‘Go Niaga’, a mobile business banking bundle to help businesses manage finances, improve incomes and offer digital payment options powered by secure 5G connectivity and networks. The bundle will address current market gaps among this segment, and enable businesses to better participate in e-Commerce and expand their customer reach.
Dato’ Mohamed Rafique Merican, Maybank Islamic’s CEO, said, “This partnership between Malaysia's largest telecommunications company and the country's leading Islamic banking institution opens up unique opportunities for us in delivering Islamic banking services to customers. This partnership is a significant step forward in financial inclusion. By embedding Maybank Islamic’s BaaS solutions within Unifi Business’ platforms, previously unbanked or underbanked individuals and businesses will gain access to Maybank’s essential financial services and 5G mobile connectivity through TM’s cutting-edge technologies.”
“While the technology originates from the BaaS concept, what makes it unique is its adherence to Islamic principles, making it the pioneering example of its kind in Malaysia. It combines modern technology with the ethical requirements of Islamic finance, providing innovative and faith-based financial services,” he said.
Shanti Jusnita Johari, Chief Commercial Officer for Consumer Strategy & Business at Unifi, said, “MSMEs are a key growth engine for the nation’s economy. At present, this segment accounts for nearly 38% of Malaysia’s GDP, yet their potential is often dimmed by limited access to digital tools and financial services. This is even more apparent among underserved segments, micro and small businesses who face the most challenges in accessing financial services and digital innovations that are necessary to elevate their lives and livelihoods.
“As a trusted partner to more than 400,000 MSMEs across the nation, we believe this partnership is a timely intervention to effectively address these challenges and help local businesses seize the opportunities of the digital economy. This partnership is the next milestone in our vision to become a digital powerhouse by 2030 and our mission to power a Digital Malaysia, improving businesses and communities through technology, and paving the way for a digitally inclusive nation,” Shanti shared.
Highlights of Maybank Islamic and Unifi Business’ Go Niaga offering
As the first bundle from Maybank Islamic and Unifi Business’ joint collaboration, the Go Niaga mobile business banking bundle aims to address the essential banking needs of local entrepreneurs and MSMEs.
To help local businesses streamline their operations, the Go Niaga bundle offers:
a) A lower minimum deposit of only RM 100 for customers to open an SME First Account-i – allowing them to clearly segregate their personal and business accounts that will help improve their long term credit rating.
b) Payment acceptance facilities through Maybank Islamic’s QRPay Biz, and Tap2Phone – enabling cloud POS via mobile devices to facilitate digital / card payments.
c) Credit Facilities including Maybank Islamic’s SME Digital Financing: Aspirasi Wanita Programme – providing more entrepreneurs access to funds that could help them stabilise and expand their business.
d) Uni5G Postpaid Biz 39, Uni5G Postpaid Biz 55 and Uni5G Postpaid Biz 89 mobile plans bundled with free 5G mobile devices – ensuring secure access to financial services anywhere, anytime and bringing 5G capabilities to more communities.
e) Cash rebates for Unifi Mobile bills when customers sign up and activate Maybank Tap2Phone merchant payment facility bundled with Uni5G Postpaid Biz packages.
This initial offering will be made available from 21 February until 29 May 2024. Customers are welcome to visit selected Unifi Stores on Tuesdays, selected Maybank branches on Wednesdays and selected Pusat Ekonomi Digital (PEDi) nationwide on event days, to find out how they can benefit from these offerings.
For more info, please visit maybank.my/goniaga or http://biz.unifi.com.my/goniaga
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TM SHOWCASES AI AND DIGITAL LEADERSHIP AT ASEAN AI SUMMIT 2025
KUALA LUMPUR, 13 AUGUST 2025 – TM underscored its leadership in driving the country’s AI and digital transformation at the ASEAN AI Summit 2025, showcasing intelligent infrastructure and real-world AI solutions powering sovereign AI, smart cities, and the digital economy. Over the two-day summit, TM demonstrated how its sovereign digital backbone, which includes nationwide fibre backhaul, Cloud Alpha Edge (CAE) and GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS), is enabling the next generation of secure, high-performance digital solutions. CAE delivers ultra-low latency cloud services hosted entirely in Malaysia, ensuring data residency, regulatory compliance, and operational resilience, while GPUaaS complements this with scalable AI compute power, allowing organisations to develop and deploy AI models without heavy upfront investment. Amar Huzaimi Md Deris, TM’s Group Chief Executive Officer, said, “As the country’s trusted digital partner, TM is building an inclusive, secure, and sovereign digital infrastructure for communities, organisations and the government sector, advancing both Malaysia and ASEAN’s collective digital transformation. “Beyond intelligent networks, sovereign cloud, and AI solutions, we are mobilising an AI-competent workforce and cultivating a collaborative ecosystem, central to our aspiration of becoming a Digital Powerhouse by 2030. These efforts are key to revitalising Malaysia’s innovation ecosystem and positioning it as ASEAN’s leading digital hub,” Amar added. Applauding Efforts to Strengthen Cloud and Digital Ecosystem The Summit also marked the launch of the National Cloud Computing Policy by Minister of Digital, YB Gobind Singh Deo. On this, Amar said, “TM applauds the Ministry’s efforts to strengthen Malaysia’s cloud and digital ecosystem. As the only Malaysian Cloud Service Provider under MyDIGITAL, we’re committed to building a future-ready cloud environment that accelerates Malaysia’s digital journey, enables the public sector to deliver better services, and supports organisations to grow securely and sustainably. “Through our cloud and digital arm, Credence, we offer secure, sovereign, locally hosted cloud and AI services, including Cloud Alpha Edge and GPU-as-a-Service. These services are housed in TM’s certified data centres across key business zones in Malaysia. By combining 5G, cloud, and AI, we’re providing the power and performance needed for next-generation applications, backed by global security and reliability standards,” Amar explained. From Infrastructure to Intelligence TM’s showcase at the Summit, themed the TM AI Park, highlighted how this sovereign digital backbone is already enabling real-time, data-driven services through impactful use cases: · Sustainability – Smart Urban Forestry uses AI, LiDAR and Digital Twin technology to help city councils monitor tree health, biomass and carbon stock—enabling smarter planning and carbon credit readiness. · Healthcare – eHealth Screening delivers contactless, AI-powered health assessments via camera, while PulseWise provides offline respiratory diagnostics for ambulances and rural clinics—bringing fast, accessible healthcare to the front lines. · Digital Lifestyles – LAILA, a lifestyle assistant, offers personalised nutrition, skin and self-care guidance using AI language and vision models. Edge Gaming leverages TM’s low-latency infrastructure for immersive entertainment and AR/VR training. · Productivity – AI Tourism Assistant generates personalised itineraries through a multilingual chatbot, while NeuraNote automates meeting transcription, summaries and sentiment analysis—boosting workplace efficiency. Beyond technology, TM showcased how it integrates inclusive digitalisation and AI into its community upliftment initiatives, such as the transformation of Kampung Mukut in Tioman Island with enhanced education, livelihoods, and essential services. TM’s Future Skills Programme also equips students nationwide with robotics, coding, real-time data logging and other tools that prepare them for digital futures. By driving these initiatives, TM is ensuring that AI and digital innovation deliver tangible benefits—uplifting communities, empowering organisations, and strengthening public services across Malaysia. To learn more about how TM’s intelligent infrastructure and sovereign AI platforms are shaping a smarter, safer, and more connected nation, visit www.tm.com.my.
unifi encourages MSMEs to maximise Government Digitalisation Grant and accelerate their digitalisation journey with its suite of digital-first solutions
Government’s announcement to increase digitalisation grant to RM200 million next year is a big step in the right direction unifi is set to accelerate MSMEs in their digitalisation plans with its complete range of digital-first solutions. This comes after the Government’s announcement to raise the Digitalisation Grant for Malaysian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to RM200 million next year. The increase is a big step in the right direction and is expected to have a significant impact on the push for digitalisation especially in a period when businesses are looking at technology to fast track their road to recovery and beyond. Along this road to recovery, unifi Business has positioned itself to become the preferred digitalisation enabler for MSMEs with its digital-first solutions while playing its part as a responsible corporate citizen in supporting the Government’s push to digitalise MSMEs. Anand Vijayan, Chief Commercial Officer of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) said MSMEs should fully utilise this opportunity to accelerate their digitalisation journey and unifi Business is here to support them. “The decision to raise the digitalisation grant to RM200 million is a big move in the right direction and we’re ready to support the needs of MSMEs in Malaysia that want to accelerate their digitalisation journey.” “As a government-appointed Technology Service Provider Partner (TSP) under the MSME Digitalisation Grant, we have the complete range of digitalisation solutions for MSMEs in every step of their digitalisation journey,” said Anand during a virtual media briefing session held today. Since unifi launched its bespoke initiative that leverages on the Digitalisation Grant in August this year, the response from MSMEs have been overwhelming, further strengthening the brand’s position as the digital partner of choice among the MSMEs. Currently, unifi serves a significant portion of the nation’s MSME ecosystem with more than 375,000 MSMEs subscribed its solutions nationwide. Under this Grant, MSME entrepreneurs can subscribe to unifi Business Solution packages with savings of up to 50% across 12 months. In addition, unifi is offering prizes worth RM1.5 million to encourage MSME entrepreneurs to start digitising their businesses. Meanwhile, Mohamad Yusman Ammeran, unifi Head of SME Segment who was also present at the session said feedback from MSMEs showed that digitalisation served as a booster that helped these businesses recover and thrive. “The pandemic has transformed the business landscape in Malaysia and digitalisation is the way forward. We see a positive impact in the many businesses that we’ve supported during this very challenging period and I’m happy to see that many not only recover but have thrived thanks to our digitalisation solutions despite the challenges,” said Mohamad Yusman. unifi has a host of solutions to cater to the different needs of individual MSMEs. These include Microsoft 365 which allows businesses to increase productivity with real-time solutions to connect and collaborate anytime, anywhere. This solution also offers access to files in real time across multiple devices while ensuring a high degree of data integrity. For new businesses venturing into the digital marketplace, unifi offers a comprehensive Digital Marketing Solution where they can enhance their online presence with increased visibility especially on social media. Another unifi Business innovation is the cari@unifi Premium Listing site, a solution that allows businesses to reach a wider customer base through online listings and articles on the hugely popular local e-commerce platform, cari@unifi. In addition, unifi also organises complimentary awareness and training programs for MSMEs to increase their digital proficiency. On top of that, unifi has business consultants at 83 MSMEs Corners nationwide to provide advice and guidance to business owners – the only technology company in the country to provide such services. To encourage sign-up for the Digital Grant, unifi is also offering exciting prizes to successful applicants under its “Sign Up & Drive Away” contest. Prizes include nine (9) four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicles during the contest period which will end 31 December 2021. Other interesting prizes include laptops, smartphones and tablets. For more information on unifi Business Solutions and SME Digitalisation grant offerings, please visit www.unifi.com.my/business/smegrant.
TM reports strong 3Q2020 performance amidst challenging environment
Encouraging QoQ revenue growth across all product lines 3Q2020 QoQ Key Financial and Operational Highlights (All comparisons refer to the second quarter of 2020 (Quarter-on-Quarter (QoQ) comparison), except as noted): Group Revenue grew 3.8% to RM2.69 billion from RM2.59 billion recorded in 2Q2020. Group Reported Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) increased by 7.0% QoQ to RM456.2 million, from RM426.3 million in 2Q2020. Group Reported Profit After Tax and Non-controlling Interests (PATAMI) rose 19.9% QoQ to RM329.5 million compared to RM274.7 million. The total capital expenditure (capex) for 3Q2020 stood at 14.9% of revenue or RM400.0 million. unifi: Continues convergence leadership with growth in broadband and mobile; highest convergence penetration of TM households at 58%. TM ONE: Strengthened position as the digital enabler for enterprise and public sector customers with connectivity and end-to-end cloud offerings. TM Wholesale: Continues to connect industry players, carriers, over-the-top (OTT) providers and content players in Malaysia and globally. Addressing the digital divide: Remain committed to increasing connectivity reach via Jalinan Digital Negara (JENDELA) and accelerating the digital economy with recently announced Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) collaboration. Strong Business Performance for 3Q2020 Despite these unprecedented times, TM Group Revenue continues to increase QoQ recording a resilient 3.8% growth to RM2.69 billion from RM2.59 billion recorded in 2Q2020 on the back of higher revenue from voice, internet and data services. Group EBIT for 3Q2020 increased by 7.0% QoQ to RM456.2 million, from RM426.3 million in 2Q2020, on the back of lower operating cost, from the Group's continued momentum from its cost optimisation programmes. This subsequently led to a 19.9% increase in Group PATAMI from RM274.7 million in the preceding quarter to RM329.5 million. In 3Q2020, the company invested 14.9% of revenue in capex amounting to RM400.0 million - in line with guidance - as it continued to optimise its network and sweat its assets. Of the amount invested, 50% was for network access, 17% for core network, and the balance 33% for support system. Imri Mokhtar, Group Chief Executive Officer, TM, commenting on the results: "We are pleased to report another quarter of growth across all key financial metrics – revenue and profits – despite the challenging environment in Q3. Our efforts in cost optimisation continue to yield results with a healthy EBIT and a strong PATAMI. As we enter the ninth month of the Covid-19 pandemic, our priority continues to be the safety and health of our 'Warga TM' while continuously delivering connectivity and solutions excellence to our broad customer base." "We are seeing unifi gaining momentum, posting a 6.3% growth to 1.65 million subscribers, with our total broadband customer base now at 2.26 million. We achieved the highest convergence penetration (of three services or more) in TM households since 2018, of 58%, as more Malaysians embrace digital living-working in this new norm. On the wholesale front, we continue to collaborate with industry players in Malaysia and globally. At TM ONE, we further cemented our leadership position as the digital enabler for enterprise and public sector customers with enterprise-grade connectivity and end-to-end cloud offerings. We look forward to more collaborations with strategic partners and customers towards establishing a solid foundation for a more Digital Malaysia," Imri concluded. Operational Review: Maintaining Business Momentum TM delivered another quarter of robust performance, driven by its agility to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on Group businesses and operations; leveraging on new avenues for growth in the 'new normal' whilst adapting to challenges. unifi: Continues convergence leadership with growth in broadband and mobile Achieved the highest convergence penetration at 58% of TM households. unifi customer base grew 6.3% to 1.65 million; total broadband customer base grew 2% to 2.26 million during the quarter. Helped empower Small and Media Enterprises (SMEs) with relevant tools and knowledge to grow their businesses and embrace digitalisation with the launch of cari@unifi and eBiz Pack, unifi Business Club (uBC) collaboration with Lalamove and live webinars such as Reboot and Sembang Bisnes. Partnered with Funding Society Malaysia to provide business financing solutions for Micro SMEs (MSMEs) utilising Yellow Pages' digital platform. unifi Mobile extended access to the daily free 1GB Productivity Internet offer to 24 hours, until 31 December 2020, to support Malaysian's connectivity needs in Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO). TM ONE: Strengthened our position as digital enabler for enterprise and public sector customers with connectivity and end-to-end cloud offerings Scaled up the full capabilities of Cloud α (Cloud Alpha) suite of services with full data residency, locality and sovereignty. Appointed as the technology partner of the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) to develop and maintain the Population and Housing Census of Malaysia 2020 (e-Census) platform. Continue to support state governments and local city councils to establish future-ready smart cities and smart homes via its TM ONE Smart City Solution enabled by the Internet of Things (IoT) and various smart solutions. TM Wholesale: Continues to connect industry players, carriers, over-the-top (OTT) providers and content players in Malaysia and globally Domestic Secured a new contract with a domestic mobile player for cross ocean connectivity, backhaul connectivity solutions and broadband access capacity upgrade. New backhaul connectivity deal with a domestic mobile player for new backhaul services. International Expansion of content delivery services with an Asian-based OTT player. Secured a deal with an Asian-based OTT player for connectivity solution within Asia Pacific, and two (2) new long term data connectivity deals with global carriers. Additional voice business deals with global service providers worldwide. TM Network remained stable throughout CMCO as a result of continuous network optimisation. This is despite traffic utilisation surging between 30% to 50% depending on peak hours, from March 2020 to November 2020 due to more Malaysians working from home. Supporting the nation's digital agenda and addressing the digital divide: Remain committed to increasing connectivity reach via JENDELA and accelerating the digital economy with the recently announced MDEC collaboration. Prospects for the Current Financial Year Ending 31 December 2020 Following the Covid-19 pandemic, Bank Negara Malaysia has revised Malaysia's annual gross domestic product (GDP) forecast to contract between 3.5% to 5.5%[1], against 4.3% growth in 2019. Uncertainty from the most recent wave of the pandemic from October onwards is expected to bring about further revision to these numbers. As the nation faces this adversity, relying even more on the internet and digital connectivity for work and studies, TM continues to serve as an essential service provider, ensuring stable network performance for the entire nation via both our retail and wholesale fronts. The Government's introduction of JENDELA in September 2020 as well as the RM7.4 billion allocations in the recent National Budget to deliver upgraded broadband services for year 2021 and 2022 will serve as a platform to accelerate Malaysia's digital connectivity through wider deployment of mobile, fibre and fixed wireless access. This will pave the way for 5G under the 12th Malaysia Plan (2021–2025). TM is at the forefront in collaborating with other service providers, enabling and delivering JENDELA. We continue to seek opportunities to cater for future demands of connectivity, in line with our proven commitment to maintain business profitability whilst adapting to and exploring new norms and avenues from this dynamic circumstances that the nation faces today. [1] Sourced from Bank Negara Malaysia, 14 August 2020
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