Petronas plans US$4 billion floatation

Malaysian state energy firm Petronas is to list its chemicals arm in a sale that could raise US4.0 billion dollars in South-east Asia’s biggest ever share offering, reports said on Wednesday.

Petronas Chemicals Group is expected to list on the Malaysian stock exchange in November, Dow Jones Newswires said, citing a term sheet outlining the sale plan.

The offering would exceed the listing of Malaysia’s top mobile operator, Maxis, which made a strong start on the bourse last November with a 3.3 billion dollar IPO that was then the region’s largest.

Petronas’ petrochemicals business includes 22 companies that produce chemical compounds, fertilisers, and industrial and specialty chemicals.

Petronas Chemicals’ indicative institutional price is 5.20 ringgit a share, Dow Jones said, citing sources familiar with the deal.

It said that some proceeds would be used to set up a fertiliser plant in eastern Malaysia on Borneo island. — AFP