UMW Oil & Gas Bhd, a unit of the Malaysian conglomerate UMW Holdings Bhd, was reported to set its minimum indicative price for IPO at MYR3 per share. "They have also started on a cornerstone roadshow, indicative pricing has not been finalised but it is estimated to be 3 ringgit and above," said one of the sources. Meanwhile, officials of UMW were not available to comment.

At this rate, the offering would be expected to raise US$1 billion, at most. This information was according to two anonymous sources who have direct knowledge about the matter.

The said IPO offer would benefit ethnic Malays and other indigents. The final price was still to be determined after bookbuilding.

The IPO was expected to be commenced at around the fourth quarter of this year. If so, it would be Malaysia's largest IPO offering. This was after Malakoff Bhd, an independent power producer, announced in May that it postponed its debut to next year.

Monday, July 8, was the opening of the offer. It would be closing on July 16 at 12 noon.