The mobile phone empire of Malaysian billionaire Ananda Krishnan launched an initial public offering on Wednesday to raise at least $3.4 billion in the biggest share sale in Southeast Asia.

Maxis Berhad, the top mobile company in Malaysia, is offering for sale 2.25 billion existing shares, representing 30 per cent of its total equity, it said in a prospectus. The indicative price of 5.20 ringgit ($1.50) a share would raise 11.7 billion ringgit in total.

Of the 30 per cent stake, only 2.83 per cent will be offered to retail investors while the rest will be sold to local and foreign institutional investors, the company said.

The share sale marks the return of Maxis to the Malaysian bourse two years after it was taken private in 2007 by tycoon Ananda Krishnan - the world's 62nd richest individual, according to Forbes.

Its relisting followed a request by Prime Minister Najib Razak who is seeking to bolster Malaysia's capital markets.

"It was envisaged that the relisting of Maxis would attract the attention of local and regional investors, enlarge Bursa Malaysia's market capitalisation and also add to the range of large, well managed companies available on our stock market," said Maxis chairman Raja Arshad Tun Uda.

Maxis, however, is listing only its domestic operations - a move some analysts said may make the IPO less attractive as

it excluded its fast growing businesses in India and Indonesia.