DNeX lodges RM3 billion sukuk wakalah programme with SC

Dagang NeXchange Bhd (KL:DNEX), Malaysia's listed technology infrastructure services group, lodged a Sukuk Wakalah programme of up to RM3.0 billion (about US$745 million) in nominal value with the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) on 31 March 2026, the company said in a Bursa Malaysia filing the following morning (The Edge Malaysia). It is the group's first foray into Islamic debt and one of the largest sukuk shelves lodged this year by a Malaysian technology issuer. Proceeds will be channelled into working capital, investments, capital expenditure and debt repayment across the group, with any sustainability-linked tranche earmarked for projects under DNeX's Sustainable Finance Framework.

The deal

The programme is structured as a Sukuk Wakalah based on the Shariah principle of Wakalah Bi Al-Istithmar and comprises two layers: senior Islamic medium-term notes (Senior Sukuk Wakalah) and subordinated perpetual Islamic notes (Perpetual Sukuk Wakalah). RAM Rating Services Bhd has assigned a rating of A1/Stable to the senior tranche and A3/Stable to the perpetual tranche, with the two-notch gap reflecting the deferral features typical of a perpetual structure. RAM Sustainability Sdn Bhd has separately assigned a Gold Sustainable Finance Rating, which lets DNeX issue use-of-proceeds green or social instruments under the same shelf when the group wants to.

CIMB Investment Bank Bhd and Maybank Investment Bank Bhd are the joint principal advisers, joint lead arrangers, joint lead managers and joint sustainability structuring advisers for the programme. CIMB IB is the sole facility agent, while CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd and Maybank Islamic Bhd act as joint Shariah advisers. Group chief financial officer Vinie Chong, a CFA and CPA charterholder, said the programme gives the group "greater flexibility to optimise its capital structure and cash flow management" while supporting continued growth across its three core businesses — semiconductor, information technology and energy.

Why this matters

The structure is the most interesting data point. Few Malaysian tech issuers have priced a sukuk that combines a conventional medium-term senior tranche with a subordinated perpetual — a layer that is, in economic substance, closer to Additional Tier 1 capital than to a vanilla corporate bond. That matters because it lets DNeX raise ringgit at a cost that sits between senior debt and equity, without diluting existing shareholders or committing to a fixed maturity. The perpetual layer gives DNeX latitude to defer profit payments in stress scenarios, which is why RAM has rated the perpetual tranche two notches below the senior.

The size — RM3.0 billion in nominal value — is large by Malaysian tech-issuer standards. As at 31 March 2026, DNeX had total equity of RM1.7 billion, borrowings of RM146 million and cash balances of RM574.7 million, according to its first-quarter results filed the same week. The sukuk shelf gives the group firepower for the kind of selective M&A and capex that the past two years have demanded across its semiconductor, IT and energy segments.

DNeX returned to profitability in 1QFY2026, posting a net profit of RM12.78 million against a net loss of RM79.04 million a year earlier, driven by a turnaround in its semiconductor division and improved earnings from its IT segment. That earnings recovery underwrites the A1 senior rating and makes the sukuk timing more deliberate than opportunistic — the group now has both the balance sheet and the rating to issue, and a visible roadmap to spend against.

What's next

Three things to watch. First, the first drawdown under the programme — the filing does not specify timing, but comparable Malaysian sukuk wakalah programmes by large issuers typically price their inaugural tranche within 60 to 90 business days of lodgement. Second, the tenor and profit rate of that first issuance, which will set the market's read on DNeX's cost of capital under the new structure. Third, segment-level deployment: any subsequent quarterly Bursa disclosure that attributes new capex to the sukuk proceeds, or that links an M&A payment to the programme, will confirm whether the perpetual layer is being used as quasi-equity for inorganic moves or as a working-capital backstop. The next DNeX quarterly results, expected later in August 2026, will be the first formal read on the group's funding plans under the new shelf.

Source: The Edge Malaysia — Dagang NeXchange lodges RM3 bil sukuk wakalah programme for working capital, capex