A proposed merger of Telenor Group and Axiata Group’s units in Malaysia moved a step closer to completion after receiving clearance from the country’s securities commission.

Telenor stated the planned combination of Celcom and Digi is on track to complete by the end of the year, though noted the deal still requires approval from Malaysia’s stock market and final sign-off from shareholders of both companies.

The companies originally expected to complete the transaction during Q2.

Malaysia’s communications regulator cleared the deal in June after the operators offered a number of measures to address competition issues initially raised.

Celcom and Digi have around 9.5 million mobile connections each, GSMA Intelligence estimates for Q1 show. This places them as the second- and third-largest players in the market, respectively, behind Maxis on 11.6 million.