Stock Name: AXIATA
Company Name: AXIATA GROUP BERHAD
Research House: CIMB



Axiata Group Bhd, owner of Malaysia's second-biggest mobile-phone operator, may raise its dividend payout next year, according to CIMB Investment Bank Bhd after meeting its management.

"There is room to increase its payout from 30 per cent and still maintain a healthy balance sheet," Kelvin Goh, an analyst at CIMB said in a report today. Axiata's current payout is "conservative" given its strong free cashflow to equity of about RM4 billion per annum, he said.

Goh raised his share-price forecast to RM5.90 from RM5.30 and kept his "outperform" rating on the stock. -- Bloomberg