KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 28): Axiata Group Bhd (KL:AXIATA) is touting higher dividends to draw back international investors to the telecommunications company after its expulsion from the MSCI index.
The aim is to deliver at least 10% year-on-year growth in dividends per share, Axiata group chief executive officer Nik Rizal Kamil said in a post-earnings briefing on Friday. The biggest Malaysian telco by revenue is distributing 5.5 sen per share as its first interim dividend, up from five sen a year ago.
“We believe that this would hopefully cause the momentum and interest” to attract investors back to Axiata, he said.
Axiata, which jointly controls CelcomDigi Bhd (KL:CDB) with Norwegian telecom giant Telenor, was one of the six stocks kicked out of MSCI Malaysia Index during its last review in May.
The indices are closely watched by fund managers and international investors. An exclusion from the indices can trigger outflows as investors sell the former constituent in their portfolios to mirror the benchmarks. The next review has been scheduled for Nov 11.
“One of the key drivers as per our understanding is foreign equity participation, because foreign equity in Axiata has been coming down over the period,” Nik Rizal said.
Axiata’s foreign shareholdings have declined since the start of 2026 to about 7% of total shares as of July from about 11%. Over the same period, the stock has lost more than 25% of its market value to about RM17 billion. The stock closed at RM1.82 on Friday.