Gas Malaysia Bhd, part of an energy distributor linked to Malaysian billionaire Syed Mokhtar Al- Bukhary, said it wants to raise about RM734 million (US$234 million) in an initial public offering in Kuala Lumpur.

Existing stockholders, including MMC Corp, plan to sell 333.8 million shares with an indicative price of RM2.20 each for individual investors, according to a listing prospectus released today. Pricing for institutions will be determined after a bidding process, Gas Malaysia said.

The IPO comes amid a resurgence in share sales in Malaysia, even though volatility in global stock markets has increased with concerns over potential international fallout from Greece's debt crisis. Palm oil planter Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd. may raise as much as US$3.3 billion next month, two people familiar with the matter said on April 27. Hospital operator Integrated Healthcare Holdings Sdn Bhd also plans to soon list.

Gas Malaysia is the sole licensed seller of natural gas in Peninsular Malaysia, the listing document shows. It also has rights to supply liquefied petroleum gas in the region.

The Selangor-based company plans to pay at least 75 percent of profit as dividends from 2013, according to the prospectus. It intends to distribute all the earnings net of tax this year as dividend, it said.

Maybank Investment Bank Bhd is managing the share sale, helped by Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd and Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd.

MMC, controlled by Syed Mokhtar, fell 0.4 per cent to RM2.63 at 11 a.m. in Kuala Lumpur trading today, compared with a 0.8 percent drop in the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index. - Bloomberg