C&W's Singapore stake in play

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If a deal is concluded, the transaction would have implications for M1's major stakeholders, a quartet that includes Britain's Cable & Wireless.

C&W, which helped to found M1 in 1994, owns 6% of the group, the second-largest mobile operator in the city-state. The other three founders are Hong Kong's Pacific Century Cyberworks (PCCW), which also holds 6%, together with media group Singapore Press Holdings and Keppel Telecommunications and Transportation, which each hold 14%.

Singapore Press said interested parties had been knocking on its door about its M1 holding. The activity has been sparked by the knowledge that a lockup period on the founders' sale of their M1 stakes, which collectively total 40% of M1, expires on 4 December.

M1 pushed two cents or 1.5% higher to S$1.35. The company is valued by the market at S$1.42bn (£485m), which puts a price tag on C&W's holding of about £29m.

Adding a touch of spice is a so-called 'tag-along clause' that, in effect, binds all four founding shareholders together. Under its terms, if an offer is received by one of the four, the other three have the right to sell on the same terms. The wider Singapore market was in a sombre mood as the bomb blasts in Turkey and a retreat on Wall Street overshadowed fresh data pointing to a continued pick-up in economic activity.

State-linked Singapore Airlines fell 30 cents or 2.5% to S$11.30 amid fears that passenger demand would be crimped by the renewed upsurge in terrorist activity.

Also on the losers' board were local banks, a proxy for the wider market and therefore a convenient target for a sell-off. DBS Group eased 10 cents or 0.7% to S$13.50, taking its losses to more than S$2 in little more than two weeks.

United Overseas Bank dipped 10 cents or 0.8% to S$12.40. The Straits Times index shed 8.6 points to 1653.83, a drop of 0.5%. Lender HSBC, one of the targets in the Turkey attacks, gave up ground in Hong Kong amid investor nervousness. It declined HK$1.50 or 1.3% to HK$114.50.

In recent weeks HSBC has received several upgrades from analysts, who say the share could reach HK$130 or more as the global economy accelerates. It recently hit a 52-week high of HK$120.50.

Also losing ground were HSBCaffiliate Hang Seng Bank, down 25 cents or 0.3% to HK$96.75, and Cathay Pacific Airways, off 45 cents or 3.2% to HK$13.70. Developer Cheung Kong fell 25 cents or 0.4% to HK$57.75.

The Hang Seng index slipped 44.83 points or 0.4% to 11,800.58.

Tokyo was lower as the bears mulled fears about terrorism while the bulls pondered signs that corporate earnings r emaine d on an upwards curve. The Nikkei 225 drifted down 12.87 points to 9852.83.

While Japan Airlines System followed the sector-wide retreat, down eight yen or 2.8% to 283, steel maker JFE gained 170 yen or 7.2% to 2530 after strong figures boosted by soaring Chinese demand.