Malaysia's government may double the price of natural gas today, reducing profitability at companies including rubber glove makers Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd., Aseambankers Malaysia Bhd. said.

The price of domestic natural gas will climb to the market rate in the next five to 10 years, Vincent Khoo, an analyst at Aseambankers in Kuala Lumpur, wrote in a report, citing ``reliable industry sources.''

The increase is less than a surge of as much as 188 percent proposed by the government last month, though is ``still not business friendly,'' Khoo wrote. ``The too-drastic and sudden rise in energy cost would affect producers' ability to map out a long-term business strategy.''

Malaysia's government, attempting to cut a fuel subsidy that reached 35 billion ringgit ($11 billion) in 2007, last month increased the price of gasoline by 41 percent. Doubling the cost of natural gas for industries risks fanning inflation, which the central bank has said may have exceeded 6 percent in June, a decade high.