MRCB eyes expansion of property business into Indonesia, Thailand

Aerial view of Kuala Lumpur Sentral central business district.

KUALA LUMPUR: Construction and property development company Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) aims to expand its property development business into Indonesia and Thailand. 

Its executive director Mohd Imran Mohamad Salim said MRCB planned to expand regionally and in the midst of studying the two markets. 

“We’ve been in talks with other parties there about making any property development acquisition,” he said, adding that MRCB was also looking at a reciprocal partnership with Indonesian parties for property developments over here. 

Speaking to reporters following the group’s EGM in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, Mohd Imran said the forays into Indonesia and Thailand would help strengthen MRCB’s position in the regional market. 

Meanwhile, MRCB on Monday obtained its shareholders’ nod to conduct a private placement exercise of up to 493.02 million new ordinary shares of RM1 each in the company, representing up to 20% of its issued and paid-up share capital. 

This move would change MRCB status to a bumiputra-controlled public listed company and pave way for the company to bid for contracts under the bumiputra category as the private placement exercise is targeted mainly at its bumiputra investors. 

This private placement exercise, which is expected to be completed in the second quarter of next year, will increase MRCB’s bumiputra shareholding to 35% from 28% at present. 

“We are looking for more infrastructure projects, including rail projects and by taking the private placement exercise, it shows that we’re aggressively pursuing the effort,” Mohd Imran said, adding that MRCB had a good track record in building light rail transit (LRT) lines. 

He said the group’s order book stood at RM10bil, excluding the LRT projects. - Bernama