Malaysia's Axiata Group is pressing on with plans to pursue a spin-off and IPO for its infrastructure assets.
The company has divided out an infrastructure arm to potentially be separated into a real estate trust, Malaysia's The Star Online reported.
The infrastructure arm could include Axiata's 19,000 towers, but will not include the infrastructure of wholly-owned Indonesian subsidiary XL Axiata, the report states.
Axiata is said to be awaiting regulatory clearance for the long-anticipated spin-off. The operator is concentrating on cost management in light of strict market conditions, and an infrastructure arm could help it centralize procurement and deliver better economies of scale.
Axiata has been rumored to be considering a tower IPO for some time. The offering could raise around $500 million.
But the reported exclusion of XL assets appears to conflict with related rumors that Axiata is considering a tie-up with Indonesia's Idea Cellular to create a Southeast Asian tower company.