Maxis Bhd will offer shares to retail investors for as much as RM5.20 each and the final price will be set on November 9, after a bookbuilding exercise for institutional investors is completed.

Maxis is offering for sale 2.25 billion existing shares, or 30 per cent of the company, in the IPO. Out of this, retail investors, including Maxis customers and staff, are allocated 212.3 million shares, or 2.8 per cent.

The retail offering will close on November 5 and the company is scheduled to list on Bursa Malaysia on November 19.

Facts 

Merged entity of Permodalan Nasional Bhd’s companies, Sime Darby Bhd, Golden Hope Plantations Bhd and Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd

Targeted to list in Bursa Malaysia on Nov 30, 2007

Largest company on Bursa Malaysia with an estimated market capitalisation of over RM50 billion.

Synergy Drive would be the world’s largest oil palm player in terms of crude palm oil (CPO) production and also, Malaysia’s largest property developer by land bank size.

Diversified Malaysian multinational with core businesses in the plantations, property, heavy equipment, motor and the energy and utilities sectors.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam as chairman
Tan Sri Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid, chairman of Permodalan Nasional Bhd, as deputy chairman

The other board members are prominent Indonesian banker Dr Arifin Siregar, Datuk Henry Sackville Barlow of Golden Hope and HSBC Bank (Malaysia), Datuk Dr Halim Haji Ismail of Mentakab Rubber Company (Malaya) Bhd and Golden Hope, Datin Paduka Zaitoon Datuk Othman of the Muslim Lawyers Association of Malaysia and Islamic Mint Sdn Bhd (a company that is promoting the gold dinar and silver dirham) and Datuk Seri Andrew Sheng, a former Bank Negara assistant governor and chairman of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (1998-2005).

Top 30 of the most valuable brand in Malaysia.

1. Maybank – US$2.877 billion (RM9.638 billion)
2. Public Bank – US$2.048 billion (RM6.861 billion)
3. Maxis – US$1.583 billion (RM5.303 billion)
4. Genting – US$1.369 billion (RM4.586 billion)
5. Celcom – US$1.215 billion (RM4.070 billion)
6. CIMB – US$1.021 billion (RM3.42 billion)
7. Astro – US$985 million (RM3.3 billion)
8. Hong Leong – US$924 million (RM3.095 billion)
9. Perodua – US$729 million (RM2.442 billion)
10. DiGi – US$625 million (RM2.094 billion)
11. Giant – US$616 million (RM2.064 billion)
12. Malaysia Airlines – US$513 million (RM1.719 billion)
13. Sime Darby – US$455 million (RM1.524 billion)
14. TV3 – US$328 million (RM1.099 billion)
15. Petronas – US$274 million (RM918 million)
16. YTL – US$218 million (RM730 million)
17. RHB Bank – US$195 million (RM653 million)
18. Ambank – US$194 million (RM650 million)
19. Air Asia – US$99 million (RM332 million)
20. The Star – US$95 million (RM318 million)
21. Dutch Lady – US$89 million (RM298 million)
22. Kurnia Insurance – US$87 million (RM291 million)
23. Proton – US$71 million (RM238 million)
24. MAA Insurance – US$69 million (RM231 million)
25. Affin Bank – US$68 million (RM228 million)
26. Padini – US$63 million (RM211 million)
27. Parkson – US$37 million (RM124 million)
28. Sunway – US$27 million (RM90 million)
29. Mamee Double Decker – US$26 million (RM87 million)
30. Bonia – US$22 million (RM74 million)

It has been quite some time that we heard about DiGi.Com Bhd and Time dotCom Bhd (TDC) going to merge but there is no official news from both parties until yesterday. The merger will see DiGi gaining access to the much needed 3G spectrum that it was denied in the last 3G bidding exercise and at the same time have access to TDC’s fibre optic network. Currently, DiGi offers EDGE network which is very much slower than 3G. Gaining access to 3G spectrum, DiGi can compete with other operators like Maxis and Celcom.

However in short term, the deal won’t make any significant effect on DiGi earning and investors act negatively because TDC is a lost making company. DiGi shares fell 80 sen to RM23.60 while TDC lost 2.5 sen to 87 sen. Time Engineering Bhd, which owns 33% in TDC, fell 13 sen to 78 sen yesterday.

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia is monitoring the ringgit, which hit a fresh 10-year high on Monday, and its governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz is cautioning that the central bank will act on “excessive” speculation.

She said yesterday Bank Negara wanted to ensure an “orderly market condition” for the ringgit, which rose to 3.3385 against the US dollar on Monday. It was up 4.88% since the start of the year and up 12.14% since it was depegged on July 21, 2005.

“We want to see stability in our currency versus other currencies of our major trading partners particularly in the Asean region. So far, that has happened.

“If there are excessive speculative flows, then there will be intervention,” she said after opening the Malaysia Financial Exhibition 2007 here….

Read more at The Edge Daily