KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 11): Trading of Axiata Group Bhd's (KL:AXIATA) shares will be suspended from 9am to 5pm on Wednesday, pending the release of a material announcement.

The suspension came amid reports Axiata and Indonesian conglomerate PT Sinar Mas Group are nearing an agreement to merge their telecommunications operations in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, said the owners of PT XL Axiata and PT Smartfren Telecom are finalising details of a transaction that could be announced as soon as this week.

Axiata in a filing with the local bourse said that Bursa Malaysia had approved its request for suspension as provided under subparagraph 3.1(b)(i) of Practice Note 2 on Requests for Suspension of the Main Market Listing Requirements.

The counter closed at RM2.37 on Tuesday, valuing the group at RM21.8 billion.

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