KUB Malaysia to strengthen assets following A&W disposal

KUALA LUMPUR: KUB Malaysia Bhd will be strengthening its assets in the plantation, ICT and oil and gas sectors following the disposal of its stakes in the Thailand A&W chain and KUB Builders Sdn Bhd.

Its president and group managing director Datuk Abdul Rahim Mohd Zin said the sale of the subsidiaries were part of the group's strategy to dispose of its underperforming businesses.

"The proceeds will help to strengthen our balance sheet and to expand our business in core areas," he told a media briefing here on Tuesday.

He said there were no further plans to dispose of other subsidiaries at the moment, but they were looking at acquisitions in the power and plantation sectors.

"We are actively reviewing several businesses as targets for acquisitions, but these are still in preliminary stages," he said.

The group had announced to Bursa Malaysia on Monday that its wholly-owned subsidiary Restoran Kualiti Sdn Bhd (RKSB) and its unit, A&W (M) Sdn Bhd, had entered into a share purchase agreement with Kulpavee Chalermmeateewong, a Thai citizen, to transfer 88.29% share of A&W Restaurants (Thailand) Co Ltd (AWT) for RM3.69mil.

KUB said on completion of the transfer, involving 618,000 units of shares, AWT would cease to be its subsidiary.