This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 6, 2026 - April 12, 2026

OCK Group Bhd (KL:OCK), known for its regional telecommunications tower footprint, is accelerating a strategic pivot into broader digital infrastructure — spanning high-spec fibre networks, solar power solutions and data centre power backup systems — as the company positions itself for the next wave of connectivity demand driven by 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and hyperscale computing.

The shift marks a deliberate move to diversify its recurring income streams and reduce its reliance on traditional tower leasing, which remains stable but is becoming increasingly competitive.

In an exclusive interview with The Edge, OCK founder and group managing director Datuk Sam Ooi Chin Khoon says the group’s future lies in owning and operating the infrastructure layers that underpin the digital economy.

“Yes, we [still] want to be one of the largest ‘towerco’ in Asean, but I think the aspiration now goes beyond just that,” he says, adding that the pivot is aimed at diversifying its income base to increase the recurring portion.

With a portfolio of more than 5,500 towers across Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos, OCK has since 2019 diversified into solar power generation and fiberisation, as well as power solutions for data centres.

“We’re trying to move on from just focusing on telco because we want to say that we’re doing connectivity through power and solar energy, fibre to connect the data centres and backup power solutions for data centres. Today, we even have our digital solutions team offering end-to-end [solutions] as we’re trying to move beyond just towerco. That’s why we are aggressively growing the contracting business for data centre [power solutions],” says Ooi.

OCK is now positioned to offer end-to-end digital infrastructure solutions, from fibre cable contracting to telecom tower assets and solar green power generation.

“If you’re talking about 5G, you’re talking about AI. If you’re talking about AI, you need the data centre. If you talk about the data centre, you need power. So that’s where we diversify, into areas that are quite related to what we are doing now,” he explains.

OCK ventured into solar energy in 2019 when it acquired four solar farms in Sabah. By 2020, the generation capacity of its solar farms had increased to 11.3MW across 17 installations. In 2024, the group invested RM350 million in a large-scale solar power plant with a generation capacity of 116MW in Sungai Petani, Kedah.

In the midstream segment, OCK is involved in fibre cable laying through its collaboration with Smartsel Sdn Bhd, a Selangor government-owned digital infrastructure company, for the implementation of the Cyberjaya fiberisation project. The project to install 41.4km of high-capacity underground optical fibre infrastructure in Cyberjaya is valued at RM500 million. Through its subsidiary OCK Datawave Sdn Bhd, the company will develop, operate and maintain the fibre infrastructure owned by Smartsel.

OCK and Smartsel entered into a Business Alliance Framework to establish a long-term strategic partnership in support of the “Digital Selangor” agenda. Depending on the state’s requirements, OCK and Smartsel will develop telecommunications infrastructure, including towers, smart poles and monopoles, to support 4G and 5G coverage, as well as high-capacity optical fibre networks across Selangor.

The partnership includes the provision of comprehensive 5G coverage within large-scale buildings such as offices, shopping malls, hospitals and transport hubs, as well as network operations, including cybersecurity monitoring systems. It also outlines the development of digital platforms, internet protocol networks, Internet of Things and sensor integration, data analytics, public applications and cloud and edge integration within a holistic smart state architecture.

The partnership will look at the adoption of green technologies and energy-efficient practices, including solar-powered smart poles and renewable energy integration for network infrastructure.

In the data centre backup power solution business, OCK is represented by its 52%-owned subsidiary EI Power Bhd, which is en route to a listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia. In 2021, EI Power secured its first data centre-related project — a diesel generation and distribution system for a data centre in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.

The company provides backup power solutions — a missioncritical component for Tier 3 and Tier 4 data centres, which require 100% to 200% redundancy, says Ooi. Existing Tier 3 data centres can be upgraded to Tier 4 in the future, he reckons. “So those are all potential for us because we are able to secure [more mission critical power solutions] on that [upgraded Tier 3 data centres],” he adds.

Between December 2023 and August 2025, EI Power secured RM103.17 million worth of mission critical power solutions contracts from data centres in Cyberjaya; Johor Bahru and Kulai in Johor; and Nilai in Negeri Sembilan. Meanwhile, the company completed RM149.83 million worth of renewable energy power solutions, conventional power solutions and mission critical power solutions between May 2017 and July 2025, involving data centres as well as commercial and industrial buildings.

According to the exposure prospectus of EI Power, the company intends to venture into Thailand, which has a growing data centre market. According to data by IMR cited by EI Power in the document, Thailand currently has about 50 data centres that are primarily clustered around Bangkok. In March 2025, the Thai government approved THB90.9 billion (US$2.7 billion) worth of investments in data centres and cloud services in the country, according to IMR.

OCK is preparing a major restructuring of its tower assets portfolio, with plans to carve out and list its regional tower business in what could be one of Malaysia’s largest digital-infrastructure initial public offerings (IPOs). It has been mulling the listing of the tower business for several years now but the move is gaining urgency as the group evaluates opportunities arising from Edotco Group’s ongoing divestment exercise and accelerates its expansion across Southeast Asia.

OCK believes the tower business could command a valuation of up to RM1.5 billion once its acquisition pipeline is completed. It is looking at growing its 5,500 telecom towers in Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos into a 10,000-strong portfolio before the listing exercise.

In Malaysia, OCK owns 650 sites with a tenancy ratio — the number of tenants per tower — of 1.5 times. It plans to increase its tower count in Malaysia by about 200 towers by the end of the financial year ended June 30, 2026 (FY2026) through both acquisitions and build-to-suit arrangements.

In Vietnam, the group owned over 3,650 sites as at end-FY2025, with a tenancy ratio of 1.2 times. It aims to expand its tower portfolio in Vietnam to about 4,300 towers by FY2026 through acquisitions. In nearby Myanmar, OCK owns over 1,200 sites with a tenancy ratio of 1.4 times. It intends to maintain this number until political stability is observed in the country.

“After these acquisitions, we are sizeable enough to explore a proper IPO for towerco. And this is an asset that you don’t [always] see in Asia, not even in Singapore. This is something we’re exploring, and we’re starting to work with some investment banks,” says Ooi.

“If you think about it, Bursa Malaysia today has a lot of IPOs with smaller assets, so [the market] is welcoming such bigger IPOs. This is something that will be the main goal for us in the next two to three years.”

OCK confirms that it is one of the bidders of Edotco’s tower assets, even though recent reports say it is not among the shortlisted companies.

In December 2025, The Edge reported that the shortlisted bidders were understood to be Macquarie Group; a consortium comprising the Employees Provident Fund, Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) and I Squared Capital; and a consortium involving private equity firm CVC Capital Partners plc, a fund under the purview of KWAP, and a Chinese player.

However, OCK is not looking to acquire the entire Edotco tower business, just assets in specific markets. Ooi declines to specify the markets, but is clear on avoiding Indonesia given the stiff competition from large tower companies.

Axiata Group Bhd (KL:AXIATA), the 63% owner of Edotco, is looking to monetise its investment in the company, which is valued at roughly US$2 billion. Other shareholders of Edotco include Khazanah Nasional Bhd, with a 31.71% stake, and KWAP (5.29%).

Last November, OCK acquired Edotco’s tower assets in Laos at an undisclosed price. Prior to the sale, Edotco had 33,904 towers with more than 57,000 tenancies across Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

According to The Edge’s report, the shortlisted bidders are reluctant to take up Edotco’s assets in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Whether these are the markets that OCK is looking to acquire from Edotco remains unclear.

“If you look at the numbers, you know that OCK won’t take the whole thing because we will just choose what we think makes sense,” says Ooi.

While OCK is developing a full suite of digital infrastructure solutions, the tower business remains the largest contributor to the group’s earnings. In the six months ended Dec 31, 2025 (1HFY2026), the telecommunications network solutions (TNS) business contributed RM16.64 million to the group’s profit after tax (PAT) of RM25.56 million.

However, the power solutions business has become another major contributor to the group’s earnings. In 1HFY2026, the division registered a PAT of RM10.62 million on revenue of RM38.72 million.

OCK has changed its financial year end from Dec 31 to June 30. In the 18 months ended June 30, 2025, the TNS segment posted a PAT of RM51.2 million while the power solutions business recorded RM17.76 million.

At its share price of 36 sen on April 1, OCK was valued at RM372.4 million. According to data provided by AskEdge, this gives the company a price-to-book value (P/B) of 0.6 times, which is lower than the 1.9 times of its competitor Reach Ten Holdings Bhd (KL:REACHTEN).

The disparity in valuation could be attributed to OCK’s high gearing level, which stood at 157.5% at a net of cash basis. Reach Ten has net cash of RM162.1 million, compared with OCK’s net debt of RM963.6 million.

The substantial debt position is fuelling OCK’s decision to list its tower assets, just like Axiata’s position when it comes to its stake in Edotco. Will OCK be able to ride the tide of growing digital investments in the country before its tower assets are mature enough for a spinoff?

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