Investors are bubbling with enthusiasmover the float of Malaysian mobile telecoms firm Maxis, the biggest Malaysian IPO ever and the biggest in Southeast Asia since 1992. The sale will raise up to RM12.4bn ($3.7bn) and value the company at RM40bn. But the background suggests this is a classic case of a hot IPO promising poor returns.
Maxis was taken private two years ago for around the same price. But it's relisting without its overseas units, which are being retained by a parent company called Maxis Communications, which will hold a 70% stake in the listed Maxis. This will leave it as a pure play on the mature Malaysian market, where it's the number one ahead of Axiata and DiGi.
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