This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on June 15, 2026 - June 21, 2026
A new strategic shareholder is expected to emerge at Axiata Group Bhd’s (KL:AXIATA) fintech arm Boost Holdings Sdn Bhd through the acquisition of a possible 20% to 30% stake, say sources, with Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Bhd (Angkasa) widely tipped to be the likely candidate.
Boost Holdings is currently 77.76% owned by Axiata. Great Eastern Digital Pte Ltd and Mitsuit & Co Ltd also hold stakes of 19.90% and 2.34% respectively in the company.
“The deal structure is not finalised yet, and all options are being considered. Axiata is expected to pare its stake,” one of the sources tells The Edge.
Boost Holdings is notably the biggest shareholder of Boost Bank Bhd, one of Malaysia’s five digital banks licensed by Bank Negara Malaysia. It holds a 60% stake in Boost Bank, while RHB Bank Bhd (KL:RHBBANK) owns the remaining 40%.
Angkasa, the umbrella body for Malaysia’s cooperative sector, manages a salary-deduction system widely used by civil servants to repay cooperative financing. It is collectively owned by its member cooperatives.
Its interest in Boost Holdings is not entirely surprising. Last year, Angkasa president Datuk Seri Dr Abdul Fattah Abdullah disclosed that in July 2021, Angkasa — through its subsidiary MyAngkasa Digital Services Sdn Bhd — was among the 40 entities that had applied to Bank Negara for a digital banking licence, as part of a consortium with Boustead Holdings Bhd and other companies. He said the consortium had made it to the shortlist of seven candidates before losing out to the five successful ones.
Angkasa has since been looking for opportunities to invest in one of the digital banks. It previously eyed a stake in KAF Digital Bank, but nothing materialised as “pricing was an issue”, an industry source tells The Edge. “At the right valuation, it would definitely want to get into, or have exposure to, a digital bank,” the source adds.
It is understood that there are 17,000 cooperatives under Angkasa, with a membership reaching 7.4 million people. Last Thursday, Deputy Minister of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Datuk Mohamad Alamin said the cooperative sector is a significant economic driver, contributing 3.6% to the country’s gross domestic product last year.
“Angkasa feels that its members are still underserved in the financial services market. Having access to a digital bank could help serve its members better. As for Boost Holdings, having Angkasa come in would give it access to new customers,” says an industry source.
Axiata and Boost Holdings have made no secret of the fact that they have been looking for a strategic investor for the latter. Finding a suitable buyer and closing a deal, however, seems to have taken longer than expected.
In late February this year, Axiata’s then group CEO and managing director Vivek Sood indicated that the entry of a new external investor into Boost Holdings would be delayed. He said a deal may only be concluded in the second quarter of 2026 instead of the previously announced internal target of end-2025. The investor is expected to help with future funding requirements for Boost Holdings, he added.
Vivek stepped down as Axiata’s chief upon his retirement in late May. Effective June 1, the company’s chief financial officer Nik Rizal Kamil Nik Ibrahim Kamil succeeded him.
For Axiata, a regional telecommunications and digital services group, paring its stake in Boost Holdings will help it lower debt levels and strengthen cash flows. As at March 31, 2026, the group’s net debt stood at about RM15.1 billion, slightly up from RM15.05 billion as at Dec 31, 2025.
Bringing in a new shareholder for Boost Holdings would also help ease its financial burden in relation to Boost Bank.
Boost Bank, which officially launched its mobile app to the public in June 2024, is in a capital-intensive scale-up phase, and its two shareholders — Boost Holdings and RHB Bank — have had to periodically inject substantial capital into the digital bank over the years to fund its operations and ensure compliance with Bank Negara’s minimum capital requirements.
Like the other digital banks, Boost Bank is still loss-making and is reportedly aiming to be profitable in 2028. Bank Negara requires digital banks to show a path to profitability in their fifth year of operation.
Boost Holdings’ group CEO Sheyantha Abeykoon, in an email response to queries from The Edge about shareholding changes, clarifies that the group is not looking for equity partners at the Boost Bank level. “Beyond this, we do not comment on market speculation or purported discussions relating to potential partnerships. Should there be any material developments requiring disclosure, we will communicate them in due course.”
RHB Bank, too, when contacted about potential developments at Boost Bank, says it does not comment on “market speculation, rumours or matters relating to shareholders” beyond what has already been publicly disclosed.
Angkasa officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
Boost Bank reported a slightly narrower loss after tax of RM68.48 million last year compared with a loss of RM69.24 million in 2024. In the first quarter of this year, its net loss stood at RM23.31 million compared with RM19.88 million in the previous corresponding quarter.
Meanwhile, CTOS data shows that Boost Holdings, which has been registering losses for the last five years, made a loss after tax of RM155.15 million last year on the back of revenue of RM222.74 million.
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