KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Maxis, Malaysia's top mobile operator, debuted at a 9.2 percent premium on its reference price of 5.00 ringgit ($2.06) Thursday in Southeast Asia's biggest ever IPO.

The opening price of 5.46 ringgit ($2.25) was at the top end of analysts' forecasts for a 5-10 percent premium in the initial public offering (IPO) of Maxis, which is returning to Bursa Malaysia two years after it was taken private.

'Today's listing marks another milestone on our bourse - the largest IPO in the history of Southeast Asia and the largest telecommunications IPO in Asia-Pacific since 2000,' said Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah.