Malaysian mobile oparetor Maxis make a good profit

Malaysia's top mobile operator, Maxis, made a strong return to the bourse Thursday in Southeast Asia's biggest ever IPO worth $3.3 billion. Maxis Berhad, controlled by reclusive Malaysian tycoon Ananda Krishnan and Saudi Telecom, opened on Bursa Malaysia at a 9.2 per cent premium to its 5 ringgit ($1.49) reference price. The opening price of 5.46 ringgit was at the top end of forecasts for Maxis' return to the stock market, two years after it was taken private and de-listed. 'Today's listing marks another milestone on our bourse — the largest IPO in the history of Southeast Asia and the largest telecommunications IPO in Asia-Pacific since 2000,' said second finance minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah. Ahmad Husni said at 5 ringgit per share, Maxis' market capitalisation stands at 37.5 billion ringgit, expanding the capitalisation of the nation's bourse by 4 per cent. 'The offering was met with strong demand from international and Malaysian investors,' he said at the launch ceremony. 'On the global front, the return of Maxis has attracted the attention of the international investment community to the Malaysian equity market.' Maxis Berhad said earlier this month it had raised 11.2 billion ringgit ($3.3b) in the IPO. It offered 2.25 billion, or 30 per and the majority were taken up by institutional investors. Parent company Maxis Communications, which is not listed, is expected to deploy the proceeds of the sale on funding expansion in the booming Indian and Indonesian markets, and to reduce debt. The listing includes only Maxis' Malaysian mobile business and excludes its ventures in India and Indonesia — a factor that has raised questions over the company's growth prospects. But analysts said that funds were obliged to buy the new heavyweight counter as it will be included as a component of the bourse's main index, the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index. The IPO also benefited from a 'scarcity premium', as many local institutions received smaller applications than they had applied for. 'This is a powerful return to the bourse and will be a boost for the index going forward' said Ikmal Hafizi, a telco analyst with TA Securities. 'The bourse hasn't seen this kind of market trading in at least three years' he said, but warned the performance might not be sustainable and that in a few weeks the share price could slide to 5.00-5.10 ringgit.