SINGAPORE -- Malaysia's Axiata Group and Norway's Telenor are about to crank Southeast Asia's already vicious mobile competition up a notch with a proposed merger. The companies are in talks to combine Axiata with Telenor's extensive Asian operations, creating a player with 50 billion ringgit ($12 billion) in revenue and 300 million customers across nine countries. This would be a direct challenge to two rivals that have been on the offensive regionwide -- Singapore's Singtel and Vietnam's Viettel -- and would likely fuel a broader industry shake-up.