Saudi Telecom, according to a Bloomberg report, might consider selling the stake to a Malaysian pension fund or another financial investor.

The Gulf kingdom’s biggest telecommunications operator has a 25 per cent stake in Binariang GSM Sdn Bhd, which is the controlling shareholder of Maxis.

The Binariang holding gives Saudi Telecom an effective 16.2 per cent interest in Maxis valued at about USD1.8 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Binariang also owns a majority stake in Indian wireless carrier Aircel Ltd, which is merging with larger rival Reliance Communications Ltd.

However, the report was quick to add, Saudi Telecom had not started a formal auction process for its Binariang stake and that it could also decide to keep it.

“The market believes that the entrance of a new partner may be good for Maxis,” Danny Wong Teck Meng, chief executive officer at Areca Capital, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

Saudi Telecom joined Middle Eastern operators including Ooredoo QSC and Emirates Telecommunications Group Co that ploughed more than USD10 billion into a wave of Asian acquisitions from 2005 to 2010, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Ooredoo was thinking of divesting its indirect holding in Singapore’s StarHub Ltd, Bloomberg quoted people familiar with the matter as saying.

“Over the past few years these small stakes in foreign markets have not really been contributing to the bottom line,” Bloomberg quoted Nishit Lakhotia, head of research at Securities & Investment Co, as saying.

“It makes sense for them to exit operations like Binariang where it doesn’t have management control, to focus on other countries where it does have control and return the proceeds of any sale to investors, or put back into the business.”

A representative for Saudi Telecom declined to comment. A spokesman for Maxis didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail and phone call seeking comment, according to Bloomberg.