CHINA Mobile Ltd. has held talks about purchasing a minority stake in Axiata Group Bhd., Malaysia’s largest wireless carrier by market value, sources with knowledge of the matter said yesterday.

    The Beijing-based company asked to buy about 20 percent of Axiata, a stake that would be valued at more than US$3.7 billion based on Tuesday’s closing price, said one of the sources. No agreement was reached, as Axiata and its largest shareholder Khazanah Nasional Bhd. are unwilling to sell that much stock and consider the indicated offer price too low, the sources said.

    China Mobile, the world’s biggest phone company by users, has been seeking overseas acquisitions after its cash rose to US$69 billion by the end of March. It agreed in June to buy 18 percent of True Corp., Thailand’s third-largest phone company, for US$881 million. A US$3.7 billion investment in Axiata would mark China Mobile’s biggest overseas acquisition.

    China Mobile’s cash balance will rise an average 95 billion yuan (US$15 billion) annually through 2020, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analysts led by Chris Lane wrote in a July 23 report. The swelling funds are a “constant source of controversy” for investors, who are concerned the company will overspend on overseas acquisitions, Lane wrote in the report.

    It wasn’t clear how much per share China Mobile was willing to pay for Axiata. Khazanah, Malaysia’s state investment firm, owns 38.8 percent of Axiata. (SD-Agencies)