Who is next?

More blue chips and fundamentally sound companies are voluntarily exiting Bursa Malaysia. What does this signify and how many more will join the bandwagon?

NEVER before have so many companies voluntarily left the stock exchange in such a short span of time. Since early February, more than a dozen have officially announced their plans to exit Bursa Malaysia, a move that could take equities worth RM120.8 billion out of the nation's stock market.

Many of these companies are in fact highly profitable and stable. And considering that Bursa Malaysia is now among the most vibrant stock exchanges in the Asian region, what is causing this unprecedented trend? (See Table 1 for list of recent proposals.) Will more follow the footsteps of Malaysia's two richest men, Robert Kuok who is delisting PPB Oil Palms Bhd, and T Ananda Krishnan who is taking his Maxis Communications Bhd private? So far, the biggest company leaving Bursa is telco giant Maxis Communications Bhd, controlled by tycoon T Ananda Krishnan and with a market capitalisation of more than RM39 billion as of May 21.

Ananda has offered to buy out shareholders at a premium RM15.60 per share, which amounts to RM16.4 billion, for the remaining 41% stake he does not own.

The offer price is 20% higher than the last traded price of RM13 prior to suspension on April 30. Ananda, who is worth about RM20 billion and is listed as Malaysia's second-richest man on the Malaysian Business 20 Richest list, already owns 47% of Maxis through his private vehicle Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd. The telco will be taken over by Binariang GSM Sdn Bhd, which is 78%-owned by Ananda.

Ananda, 68, made his money in the 80s as an oil trader. From oil, he expanded into a Hollywood cartoon studio, a stud farm in Australia and gaming in Malaysia. It was him who sold former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad the idea of the 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers.

In the early 90s, Ananda began building a multimedia empire that now includes Astro, Maxis and Measat. He has stakes in TBV.com and the Shaw Brothers' movie archives. Ananda has always been keen to venture beyond the shores of Malaysia and the allure of India and Indonesia, among two...