IWCity, Ekovest say not involved in reinstated Bandar Malaysia project

?The proposed project, if materialised, could provide Tan Chong Motor with opportunity to expand its foothold in the automotive industry in Vietnam,? the company said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia last Friday

KUALA LUMPUR: Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd (IWCity) and Ekovest Bhd, two listed firms controlled by Tan Sri Lim Kang Hoo, have issued separate statements to Bursa Malaysia to clarify that they are not involved in the revived Bandar Malaysia project.

The statements came after shares in the two companies jumped to their maximum allowable daily limit on Monday.

Both companies, in similar statements, told the exchange today that they were not aware of the reason behind the recent surge in their share prices. They advise investors to exercise caution in the trading of their shares.

"Save for the press release issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on April 19 entitled "Government to Restate Bandar Malaysia Project", in which the name of our sister company, IWH-CREC Sdn Bhd was mentioned, the company wishes to clarify that IWCity is not involved in the reinstatement of the Bandar Malaysia project," IWCity said.

Ekovest also confirmed that it is not involved in the revived project.

Investors on Monday chased up counters linked to Lim on high hopes that his companies would benefit from the revived Bandar Malaysia project.

The government, on Friday, announced that it would reinstate the Bandar Malaysia project that was terminated by the previous administration in May 2017.

The revised RM140bil development project will be awarded to the original consortium of Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Bhd and China Railway Engineering Corp Sdn Bhd (IWH-CREC).

The consortium has 60 days to make an advance payment of RM500mil in addition to the original deposit sum of RM741mil within 60 days from the date the project was reinstated.

The consortium will take up a 60% stake in Bandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd, with the government holding the remaining 40% stake.

Shares in Ekovest climbed 30 sen, or 45%, higher to close at 97 sen with more than 282 million shares being traded. IWCity rose 30 sen, or 29%, to close at RM1.32.