Softbank
Investment (International) Holdings Ltd, plans to
acquire a three percent stake in DiGi Swisscom Bhd, a
Malaysian mobile phone operator.
The former company is a subsidiary of Softbank Corp, a Japanese player with
a global portfolio of over 300 Internet companies.
The transaction will be settled with shares in Cheung
Wah Development Co Ltd, a unit of Softbank listed on
the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
A memorandum of understanding was signed in Hong Kong
between the DiGi chief executive officer Vincent Tan and a man who has been in the news of late: Softbank’s chief financial officer Yoshitaka Kitao.
DiGi has changed its name to DiGI.Com Bhd and Cheung Wah has
renamed itself Softbank Investment International
(Strategic) Ltd.
According to Tan, DiGi will continue to look for
Internet start-ups and wireless operations.
Kitao said that the participation in DiGi is the
company’s first investment in Malaysia.
“DiGi, like all other companies that Softbank invested
in, will have immediate access to the 300 companies in
which Softbank has a stake,” said Kitao.
With Telenor of Norway and Softbank as its strategic
partners, Tan is confident of positioning DiGi at the
forefront of Malaysian telco and Net business.