Translate

Translate This Page

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Plan to turn around PDZ Hldgs (BT)

PELABURAN Mara Bhd, which recently increased its stake in PDZ Holdings Bhd to 27 per cent, plans to inject new businesses into the loss-making shipping and logistics firm to turn it around.

Its chief executive officer, Nazim Rahman, said the new businesses will be related to the oil and gas (O&G) sector, which it hopes can steer the firm back to profitability.
“We see the O&G sector as an engine of growth in the future and we hope that with the 27 per cent stake, we can further leverage on the sector.

“We don’t have plans to further increase our stake in PDZ at the moment,” Nazim said after the launch of Pelaburan Mara’s new corporate image and rebranding exercise by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, here, yesterday.

PDZ has been registering losses since the regional economic crisis in 2008.

Pelaburan Mara, the investment and asset management arm of government agency Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara), spent RM41 million in last two weeks to acquire the controlling stake in PDZ.

On another note, Pelaburan Mara, formerly known as Amanah Saham Mara Bhd, aims to increase assets under management to RM2.4 billion by year-end from RM1.7 billion at present.

Its chairman Datuk Sohaimi Shahadan said it is in talks with local and foreign partners to invest further in private equity firms.

It is also eyeing stakes in O&G, infrastructure, manufacturing and technology firms.

Mara has four asset management subsidiaries — PMB Investment Bhd, PMB Tijari Bhd, PMB Consulting Sdn Bhd and PMB Assets Sdn Bhd — which manage 12 products with a total of RM1.7 billion in assets.

Meanwhile, PMB Tijari will offer RM100 million worth of loans to new businesses or government-linked firms in the O&G, infrastructure, manufacturing and technology sectors.

PMB Tijari (formerly known as Kuwait Finance House Ijarah) is the Islamic financial services arm of Pelaburan Mara.

It is venturing into new frontiers involving syariah-compliant products through its partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Islamic Corp for Development of the Private Sector, a unit of Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank.

Pelaburan Mara’s Syariah Aggresive Fund was the best fund management product last year, registering a return on equity of 13.5 per cent.

Read more: Plan to turn around PDZ Hldgs - Nation - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/business/nation/plan-to-turn-around-pdz-hldgs-1.583064#ixzz30KkTQS9j

No comments: