Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today pressed for a quick decision on listing new shares in Technology Resources Industries (TRI) warning a delay could spook investors.

"There is an urgency for them to make a decision very quickly. I do not want an air of uncertainty to prevail.

"It is certainly not good for the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) and the investing public, I do not want this to affect their sentiment," Abdullah told reporters.

The stock exchange decided Friday to defer listing of new shares in TRI, which controls the country's second-largest cellular phone operator Celcom, because it failed to meet listing conditions. It did not set a new date.

Abdullah said it was unfortunate the listing was stopped at the last minute but "going ahead with it after knowing something was not satisfied can cause more problems."

The KLSE is expected to hold a press conference late tomorrow to update the public on TRI listing and Abdullah urged shareholders to remain calm.

Don't panic

"I hope they will not panic. I know they panic when they do not know what is going to happen," he said.

Abdullah praised the action of the KLSE and the Securities Commission (SC) saying it was in shareholders best interests.

"The regulators - KLSE and SC - have studied the situation and I was informed by them that the present shareholders should not be put in any disadvantage.

"If they had decided on the listing on that day (Feb 20) some conditions will not be met. They (present shareholders) will be in a disadvantage. That is not good," he said.

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

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

Police investigation

TRI 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. (AFP)