PETALING JAYA: The commercial funding of RM1.7bil has been secured by Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) as of January, says the Finance Ministry.

       During the same period, the Ministry said DNB has spent RM544mil to date.

       "This includes expenditure for network infrastructure, hardware and also working capital," it said in a written reply in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (March 10).

       Fahmi Fadzil (PH – Lembah Pantai) had asked the government to state the amount of direct and indirect funds it has provided to DNB since its inception in 2021, its expenditure, as well as the number of successful telecommunication towers it has built.

       The Ministry noted that 5G networks were available around Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya as of Dec 15.

       "A total of 500 sites have been successfully integrated as of Jan 9, while till the end of this year, around 3,500 sites have been targeted to cover Penang, Johor, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Melaka," it said.

       The Ministry also clarified that the 5G network implementation costs through DNB would be financed through a combination of deferred financing to vendors, trade and working capital financing, as well as Sukuk programmes to be issued in the country’s capital markets.

       "This will not involve any guarantees or financing from the government, especially indirectly or off balance sheets as alleged by certain parties.

       "DNB will obtain the financing through financial services such as banks and this will be repaid through proceeds of sales generated from wholesale capacity sales," it said.