TH Heavy receives letter of intent from MMEA

PETALING JAYA: Loss-making TH Heavy Engineering Bhd (THHE), whose share price surged more than 200% in the past two weeks, has received a non-binding letter of intent from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) to supply three offshore patrol boats.

The offshore fabrication and marine services company told the stock market regulator that the letter of intent shall be subject to a mutual agreement between the two parties and that more details would be announced then.

“The board of directors of THHE is pleased to announce that the company has received a non-binding letter of intent dated 27 July 2016 for the supply, delivery, testing and commissioning of three units of offshore patrol vessels complete with fittings and accessories (OPV) for Agensi Penguatkuasaan Maritim Malaysia (APMM) or Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).

“This letter of intent shall be subject to a mutual agreement being reached between MMEA and the company wherein the company will make further announcement on the matter,” the company said in its filing to Bursa.

Shares of THHE closed two sen down to 20 sen yesterday, but had risen sharply in recent days ahead of a news report about the contract. It was issued with an unusual market activity (UMA) query by the market regulator on Monday.

The company’s dimming prospects was come under focus due to the lack of jobs amid the slump in crude oil prices, plus concerns that it may not be able to deliver the anchor production facility for Japan’s JX Nippon-operated Layang field development, offshore Sarawak. The 30%-owned Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH) entity was recently served with winding-up petitions from three parties for aggregate claims of RM38mil and has been excluded from participating in Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd’s tenders for two years.