KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia rebounded to close higher on Wednesday on selective buying of defensive stocks after a volatile trading session. IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said consumer products and services stocks lifted the key index higher, overcoming lingering geopolitical concerns. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.08 points to 1,715.56 from yesterday’s close of 1,712.48. The benchmark index, which opened 1.91 points higher at 1,714.39, moved between 1,710.79 and 1,720.59 during the day’s trading. In the broader market, gainers outstripped decliners 550 to 476, while 612 counters were unchanged, 1,129 untraded, and 48 suspended. Turnover rose to 2.96 billion units valued at RM2.48 billion from 2.94 billion units valued at RM2.56 billion on Tuesday.
The appointment of U Mobile Sdn Bhd to establish Malaysia’s second 5G network adheres to the equity requirements under the network facility provider (NFP) and network service provider (NSP) licences, affirmed Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil. Minister Fahmi clarified that under NFP and NSP licences, foreign equity is capped at 49%, and Bumiputera ownership must be at least 30%. U Mobile currently complies with these requirements, with plans to reduce foreign ownership to 20% to ensure stronger local investor control, which aligns with the licence conditions. On Nov 1, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) selected U Mobile for Malaysia's second 5G rollout. This decision drew attention, as U Mobile has a smaller subscriber base and less financial strength compared to larger players like Maxis Bhd and CelcomDigi Bhd. The selection process, Fahmi emphasized, was conducted through a "beauty contest" method by the MCMC, which assessed busi...