By BLOOMBERG / Pic By MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

U MOBILE Sdn Bhd is planning to raise about US$500 million (RM2.1 billion) in an IPO, according to people familiar with the matter.

The wireless carrier has asked banks for proposals to help with the potential share sale, the people said.

The company is set to pick advisors soon for a listing that could happen as early as the end of 2020, said the people who asked not to be named as the information is private.

U Mobile — Malaysia’s fourth-biggest mobile operator — is set to join home improvement retailer MR DIY and bubble tea chain Loob Holding Sdn Bhd in planning a listing in the coming year.

First-time share sales in Malaysia have rebounded and nearly tripled to US$452 million so far in 2019, from US$157 million for the same period last year.

That’s still short of the US$1.72 billion of offering seen for the full year in 2017.

“U Mobile is in the process of planning an IPO and we are targeting to go public next year,” CEO Wong Heang Tuck (picture) said in an emailed response to questions.

“However, the exact timing would be largely dependent on market conditions.”

Singapore’s Straits Mobile Investments Pte Ltd is U Mobile’s biggest shareholder with a 35% stake, according to the company registry.

Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd, Singapore’s state investment firm, holds Straits Mobile through a unit. Other shareholders of U Mobile include Malaysian tycoon Vincent Tan and the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Ismail, who hold 21% and 11% respectively. — Bloomberg