The country's number one mobile phone company Maxis Communications Bhd said today its nine months to September net profit rose to RM706.7 million from RM498.1 million a year earlier due to growth in subscribers.

Maxis said its sales stood at RM2.75 billion against RM2.21 billion a year earlier.

Maxis is currently the leader in cellular business with 2.8 million users. It is 70 percent owned by Usaha Tegas, the investment firm of tycoon Ananda Krishnan, who built the world's tallest buildings, Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Twin Towers.

In June, Maxis said its initial public offering of more than 652 million shares was oversubscribed 2.4 times. It is among the three telecoms companies to have won Malaysian 3G mobile phone licences. AFP