Gas Malaysia IPO delays to Q2

KUALA LUMPUR: The proposed listing of Gas Malaysia Bhd in Malaysia has been delayed to the second quarter of 2012, its major shareholder MMC Corp Bhd said in a stock exchange filing on Friday.

The planned listing of Gas Malaysia, the country's sole supplier of natural gas to the non-power sector, was originally scheduled to list by fourth quarter of 2011, but has been delayed to the first quarter of this year due to non-compliance with Malaysia's Securities Commission (SC)'s rules.

"Gas Malaysia is still in the midst of complying with the conditions imposed by the SC for the proposed listing as stated in their approval letter dated Oct 7, 2011 which was announced by MMC Corp on Oct 10, 2011," Malaysian Builder MMC Corp, which owns some 41.8 percent of Gas Malaysia, said in the filing.

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the proposed listing which was earlier expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2012, is now envisaged to be completed by the second quarter of 2012," it added.

One of the SC's conditions was for Gas Malaysia to ensure that its petrol stations were not built on land that was not designated for that purpose, according to a previous announcement by MMC Corp in October last year.

A source with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters in August last year that MMC Corp could raise up to some 750 million Malaysian ringgit ($246.43 million), or about 2.25 ringgit a share, from the listing of Gas Malaysia on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange.

Copyright Reuters, 2012