AppAsia to bag RM2bil deal with TM?
By NST Business
September 4, 2020 @ 3:22pm
KUALA LUMPUR: AppAsia Bhd may have bagged a deal valued as much as RM2 billion with Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM).
Sources said an announcement on the matter was expected soon.
Sources said as part of the agreement, AppAsia would take control of TM's fixed-line business pages which is parked under the iconic Yellow Pages.
TM's Yellow Pages is believed to have a half a million strong subscription-based following.
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AppAsia has been tasked to revamp Yellow Pages to help TM crack the estimated RM2.25 billion digital advertising industry.
It is understood that Pelaburan Mara Bhd, which has been gradually increasing its stake in AppAsia, played a pivotal role in ensuring that AppAsia secured the deal.
Just yesterday, PMB upped its stake in AppAsia to 8.05 per cent, with plans to double it by next week right before the research reports start coming out.
The deal itself will see AppAsia build and help TM manage a fresh unique payment gateway that is expected to dictate the markets on how such gateways will have to be reconfigured.
The markets are abuzz that several investment banks such as Maybank Investment Bank Bhd, Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd, CIMB Investment Bank Bhd, RHB Investment Bank Bhd, Public Investment Bank Bhd and Tokyo Marine are planning to initiate coverage on AppAsia.
The little-known Appasia recently emerged in the limelight after winning the rights to run and operate Malaysia's first Industry-wide Electronic Bank Confirmation Platform (EBCP).
The strength of the EBCP deal saw Rakuten Trade valuing the stock above 65 sen, as the fintech firm was poised to see its pre-tax profit shooting up to well above RM13 million next year from the RM500,000 pre-tax profit recorded in the last financial year.