PM asks Maxis to Relist on the Bursa

From the Business Times:

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said he has suggested that Maxis be re-listed on Bursa Malaysia to boost liquidity and attract investors to the stock market.

The suggestion was made during his recent working visit to Saudi Arabia. Maxis is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Binariang GSM Sdn Bhd, an investment holding company whose shareholders include Saudi Telecom Company.

Najib said Maxis has been told about the proposal and was "considering it very seriously".

"It will also make investors more enthusiastic about our capital market because they have a large portfolio to invest in a company that is well managed. Hopefully, it will happen fairly soon," he said at a press conference in Putrajaya yesterday.

The Prime Minster of Malaysia has asked that Maxis be re-listed on the Bursa. I did realize that the PM probably will show quite a bit of support toward the investment industry, but publicly asking a company to re-list is probably a little out of character for politicians, let alone Malaysia.

Anyhow, Najib is an economist so given his background it doesn't seem out of character. Furthermore, his brother is CEO of one of the largest investment banks in Malaysia, and obviously Maxis could generate quite a bit of revenue for CIMB if they chose to re-list through them. So, the PM's background and personal interest is there for the investment industry to get a lot of government support in the future.