Shares in Catalist-listed Albedo plunged on Wednesday after a report that a key deal to inject Johor land into the firm was falling through.

The company halted trading at 10.15 am as it received a query on its trading activity from the Singapore Exchange - but not before 42 per cent of its value had already been shaved off.

The company lost 2.2 cents to three cents, from its previous close of 5.2 cents. Selling activity was frenzied in that sole hour of trade, as 487.37 million units changed hands.

That meant Albedo was the day's most active stock as at 4pm, although there was only one hour of trade. Albedo said its trading halt on Wednesday is pending the release of an announcement.

Malaysia's The Star newspaper reported on Wednesday that tycoon Danny Tan is aborting his plans to inject some valuable land in Johor state into Albedo.

Albedo's price had risen sharply last year, as the firm announced that Mr Tan would acquire the firm in a proposed reverse takeover deal. Land in the state of Johor would be injected into the vehicle and Albedo would become a major property developer in Iskandar, Malaysia's special economic zone.

But the share price came crashing back to earth on the news that all this could be called off. Albedo's existing business is in steel and raw materials trading, and it has lost money for the past few years.