14 June 2005

Growing markets key to bottom-line

Singapore - June 14, 2005 - Maxis Developer Programme ("MDP") participants are poised to tap into the growing mobile application and content markets in Asia and are targeting sales from the overseas market in Asia to contribute significantly to their revenues in the coming years.

US-based market research and consulting firm, Yankee Group have projected that the total mobile data services market in Asia Pacific excluding Japan is worth US$37billion, accounting for 29% of the total Asia-Pacific mobile services revenue by 2009.

Meanwhile, market research firm Strategy Analytics have forecasted that the global mobile data market will generate revenues of about US$189 billion by the same year.

Maxis Head of Product Development and Management, Mr. Karim Abdul Malik said, "This is an opportune time for Malaysian developers to explore the viability of their applications and position it for the global market.

"It is also in line with the objectives of MDP, which is to provide Malaysian mobile content and application developers with skills set and industry knowledge to deliver their innovations for the mobile devices both domestically and internationally".

MDP participants are very much encouraged by the vast opportunities and strong growth forecasted for emerging markets, especially China.

"The overseas markets are expected to gradually become our main source of revenue and we are looking at China, which has 350 million mobile subscribers as compared to Malaysia's 14 million subscriber base, said iNavigate Chief Executive Officer, Mr. K.K. Lim.

"Although China has a relatively lower penetration rate, it is quantitatively larger than the Malaysian market and we expect sales from the Chinese market to contribute to about 10% of our revenues by end 2006," Lim added. iNavigate is a Kuala Lumpur-based provider of multimedia content and enterprise solutions.

To date, iNavigate, one of the pioneer participants at the launch of MDP in 2003, has already provided its Java games and MMS contents to two mobile service operators in Thailand and China; AIS and DTAC and China Mobile and China Unicom, respectively.

"We provide content and applications which are relatively unique as compared to offerings by local providers there," said iNavigate's Lim.

Apart from iNavigate, Meta-Dome, an Islamic mobile content and applications developer, is also gearing up to enter the overseas market. The firm, also a pioneer MDP participant, has already offered its successful Solat Times Java application to operators in the United Kingdom like O2, Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile.

Solat Times is the world's first mobile application of its kind that notifies users of the five daily Islamic prayer times in major cities in Malaysia, the United Kingdom and South Africa.

Meta-Dome recently ventured into Indonesia and the Middle East, and will soon be venturing into Brunei to offer its solutions, said its Managing Director, Mr. Ferhard Ahmad.

"The overseas markets that we enter are mostly growing markets. It is important for the company as we aim to get a large portion of sales from our overseas ventures by next year," Ferhard also said.

Apart from the overseas market, Malaysian developers are also urged to continue their strong drive in the local market.

"There's also a lot of room for growth for Malaysian developers on the domestic front as well. For example, Maxis expects mobile data revenues to grow by 40% this year from RM761 million (US$ 200.3 million) achieved last year," said Maxis' Karim.

Maxis hosted 10 MDP developers at its booth at CommunicAsia this year in an effort to provide Malaysian developers with a platform to network and share their applications and services with a global audience.

The Maxis booth, featured at the Malaysian Pavilion - hosted by industry regulator Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, was the hub for Malaysian-made mobile-based applications and services for GPRS and 3G networks.

These applications include video and image monitoring, location based services, and local language scripts for messaging, as well as digital home security and enterprise solutions for billing and pricing.

MDP is the first mobile service operator-led developer programme aimed at nurturing a local community of mobile application, service and content developers in Malaysia. At the launch of MDP, Maxis Multimedia allocated RM30 million (USD 7.9 mil) to be injected into the programme over five years.

For more information on MDP, visit http://mdp.maxis.com.my

About Maxis Communications
Maxis is Malaysia's premier telecommunications company and market leader that provides high quality voice and data services to more than 6.5 million customers. Its mobile postpaid and prepaid services are offered under the Maxis and Hotlink brands respectively. The company has achieved its leading position through a clear strategy of developing premium brands, providing quality network and customer services and introducing innovative services and products. In support of its mobile business, Maxis also operates an international portal as well as a domestic fixed line network which offers voice and data services to business customers. Its broadband infrastructure includes fibre optic, microwave and VSAT technologies. For more information on Maxis, please visit our corporate website at http://www.maxis.com.my/.

About Maxis Multimedia
Maxis Multimedia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Maxis Communications, Malaysia's premier telecommunications company. A Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC)- status company, Maxis Multimedia leverages on Maxis' industry leadership in high quality voice and data services to jointly develop innovative mobility content and applications with technology partners. The company also plays a pivotal role in the development of local talent in telecommunications technologies and content creation through human capital development in collaboration with local universities.