The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) decided to defer listing of new Technology Resources Industries' (TRI) shares because it failed to meet listing conditions.

"TRI had failed to comply with the requirement for the listing and quotation of the restricted issue," according to a statement issued by the KLSE late yesterday.

The KLSE did not set a new date for the listing but said it was "working to facilitate a quick resolution" and met with TRI officials early yesterday.

"KLSE will allow the listing of the restricted shares once TRI is in compliance with Security Commission (SC) conditions in relation to the restricted issue," it said.

TRI was to have listed 473.834 million new shares, arising from a restricted offer as part of a restructuring plan, on Wednesday but the stock exchange deferred trading at the eleventh hour, although it had approved the listing two days earlier.

"A review of the condition given by TRI revealed that TRI may not have fulfilled one of the conditions imposed by SC in relation to the pricing of the restricted shares," the KLSE said.

Foreign investors

The new TRI shares, valued at RM887 million ringgit, were to gave been sold largely to foreign institutional investors as part of an exercise to restructure the company's debts of RM3.8 billion.

TRI, which controls Malaysia's second-largest cellular phone operator Celcom, is headed by Tajudin Ramli who is under police investigation for alleged management irregularities at Malaysia Airlines where he was formerly key shareholder and chairman.

Tajudin and Deutsche Telekom are major shareholders of TRI.

TRI executive director Lim Kheng Yew said Thursday the company had complied with all requirements. He said the deferment had cast doubts over TRI's entire restructuring exercise and put the plan at risk.

TRI needs the recapitalisation to go through quickly in order to meet a 375 million-dollar eurobond repayment due on April 22.