PUTRAJAYA – The federal government has approved Westports Holdings Bhd’s proposed acquisition of a tract of land for RM393.96 million to develop eight additional container terminal (CT) facilities.
The port operator’s wholly owned unit, Westports Malaysia Sdn Bhd (WMSB), on February 7 entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with Pembinaan Redzai Sdn Bhd to acquire 146.4ha of leasehold land between Angler’s Resort and Port Klang Free Zone in Selangor.
The proposed purchase is part of Westports’ RM10 billion expansion drive as its current nine CT facilities are expected to reach near full utilisation within the next few years, according to the port operator’s estimates.
In a bourse filing today, Westports said the Economic Planning Unit under the Prime Minister’s Department “had no objection to the proposed acquisition”.
Putrajaya, through the Ministry of Finance Inc, owns a golden share in Westports while Pembinaan Redzai owns a 42.42% direct stake in Westports.
The port operator’s executive chairman Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam is also a director and substantial shareholder of Pembinaan Redzai.
According to Westports, the expansion would take over 25 years. The group is expected to fund the development cost through internally generated funds, bank borrowings and proceeds to be raised from fund-raising exercises.
Westports opened 1.51% lower at RM3.91, valuing the port operator at RM13.4 billion. – The Vibes, September 22, 2020
