Kuala Lumpur – According to a news report by Malaysia’s The Star, Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd. shares dropped to its lowest closing point yesterday since it was re-listed three weeks ago on October 19. The company closed at RM2.65 and is now down 11.7% from its initial public offering (IPO) price of RM3.

At present, it is unclear which parties have been selling down shares of Astro. So far, there has been no news of major shareholders selling off their stakes and no filings have been made with Bursa Malaysia by any substantial shareholders. The news story claims that this had led market analysts to suspect that Astro employees themselves who cannot meet margin calls could be the ones who have been selling their pre-IPO owned shares.

The Star further reported that Astro’s senior management met with staff this week to discuss the weak share performance. Efforts have also been made to get the financing banks to give more time before making margin calls or to lower the margin threshold for Astro employees.

Analysts said that selling pressure might also have stemmed from a combination of other factors including an unsustainable price premium given the lack of dividend yield as well as foreigners exiting the market.