KUALA LUMPUR (July 11): Here is a brief recap of some corporate announcements that made the news on Tuesday (July 11) involving Westports Holdings Bhd, Scientex Bhd, Sarawak Consolidated Industries Bhd (SCIB), Samaiden Group Bhd, Velesto Energy Bhd and Sapura Resources Bhd.
Westports Holdings Bhd’s founder and executive chairman Tan Sri G Gnanalingam passed away on Tuesday (July 11) afternoon, at the age of 78. The port operator said that Gnanalingam’s vision and stewardship of the company have built and transformed Westports and Port Klang into the preeminent gateway port in Malaysia and one of the transhipment hubs in Southeast Asia. He won the concession to run a port terminal in 1994, part of the then government’s privatisation project, shocking many friends and business associates as the seaport business was alien to him. He established the port two years later in 1996 in Pulau Indah with 10 cranes, and led it through leaps and bounds against all odds, including the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997-1998.
Scientex Bhd, which is in the midst of acquiring 960 acres of prime freehold land in Tebrau, Johor from S P Setia Bhd for RM547.56 million, is buying another 550.67 acres of land in Kulai, also in Johor, for RM299.84 million. Scientex said its indirect subsidiary Scientex Lestari Sdn Bhd has inked a conditional sale and purchase agreement with Seriemas Development Sdn Bhd to acquire the six parcels of land in Kulai to increase its landbank. Seriemas is a wholly owned unit of PNB Development Sdn Bhd, which is in turn wholly owned by Permodalan Nasional Bhd. Scientex Lestari proposes to develop the land into a mixed-development property, consisting of approximately 7,000 affordable houses.
Sarawak Consolidated Industries Bhd (SCIB) has signed a memorandum of understanding with IRIX Sdn Bhd that will pave the way for SCIB to acquire a 30% stake in IRIX SEA H2X Sdn Bhd, pending satisfactory due diligence. The company would participate in the SEA-H2X project by investing in IRIX SEA H2X, which is part of the consortium responsible for constructing and operating the Southeast Asia Hainan-Hong Kong express cable system. It said upon fulfillment of the MOU's conditions precedent, SCIB is to subscribe up to 30% of IRIX SEA H2X’s issued capital and pay a deposit sum of RM2 million for the transaction.
Samaiden Group Bhd’s unit has secured a contract worth RM181.34 million to develop a solar power plant in Sungai Petani, Kedah. The company said its wholly owned subsidiary Samaiden Sdn Bhd received the contract from Uzma Bhd’s associate company Suria Infiniti Sdn Bhd. The project is a large-scale solar PV (LSSPV) power plant with a capacity of 50MWac (megawatts), which has been approved by the Energy Commission pursuant to the LSS4 programme.
Velesto Energy Bhd’s indirect wholly owned subsidiary Velesto Drilling Sdn Bhd has secured a contract for the provision of drilling rig services for PTTEP Sabah Oil Ltd and PTTEP Sarawak Oil Ltd worth some RM60.55 million. Velesto Drilling, a subsidiary of Velesto Malaysian Ventures Sdn Bhd, in turn wholly owned by Velesto, had received a letter of award from PTTEP for the provision of one 10K jack-up drilling rig known as "Jack-Up Rig #3" for its 2022-2023 exploration drilling programme. The contract will involve the assignment of the group's Naga 3 for PTTEP's drilling programme, requiring it to drill two firm wells.
Sapura Resources Bhd is disposing of its aviation business at the Subang International Airport to Abu Dhabi-based private jet operator RoyalJet LLC for an undisclosed sum. The group said it had signed a conditional heads of agreement with RoyalJet on June 23. RoyalJet intends to establish a presence in Southeast Asia's private aviation market by designating Subang Airport as its regional hub for private charters and for their maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) business.