The Malaysian government could soon take control of Datasonic Technologies Sdn Bhd (DTSB), the company behind your MyKad and passport. NexG has confirmed that the government is exploring a possible acquisition of the subsidiary responsible for Malaysia’s identity documents.
According to a report, the government has asked NexG to submit an indicative price for the possible acquisition of DTSB. NexG has placed an indicative value of around RM7.5 billion on DTSB, while noting that discussions are still at an early stage and no final agreement has been reached. The figure is more than six times NexG’s market capitalisation of around RM1.23 billion, based on its share price of 33 sen at Thursday’s close.
For context, DTSB sits right at the heart of Malaysia’s identity infrastructure. It’s the sole supplier behind the MyKad and the Malaysian international passport, and it holds government contracts covering MyKad, MyTentera and MyPoca cards, passports and foreign worker cards, along with a stack of biometric and digital-ID intellectual property.
To get a sense of the scale, NexG landed a roughly RM732.7 million deal to supply the new-generation MyKad and a separate RM1.73 billion passport contract last year, worth around RM2.4 billion combined and running through to 2032. On top of that, the upgraded MyKad has only just started rolling out since June.
As for the timing, the possible buyout comes after months of corporate turmoil at NexG, including a boardroom dispute and changes in major shareholding earlier this year. These developments have also renewed debate over whether systems as sensitive as Malaysia’s national ID and passport infrastructure should remain under a private, listed company.
For now, this is still exploratory, and NexG has been clear that nothing has been agreed. Even so, the Ministry of Home Affairs has previously reassured the public that MyKad and passport issuance would carry on as usual regardless of the corporate goings-on, so there’s no disruption to expect at the counter. Ultimately, if the buyout does go ahead, it would mark a significant shift, putting the machinery behind Malaysia’s most important identity documents directly in government hands.
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The post NexG values MyKad and passport unit at RM7.5 billion ahead of potential government buyout appeared first on Price Shop Malaysia.
