Quick take: Yong Tai rises 11% on cruise terminal approval

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares in Yong Tai Bhd jumped 11% in early trade Tuesday after receiving approval from the Melaka state government to develop an international cruise terminal.

The counter, the second most heavily traded on Bursa Malaysia, rose 11.11%, or 1.5 sen to 15 sen with 33 million shares traded.

Yong Tai has received greenlight from the Melaka state government to develop an international cruise terminal at its flagship RM8bil mixed development, Impression City Melaka.

The company said its wholly-owned YTB Impression Sdn Bhd (YTBI) has accepted the letter of approval from the Melaka government for the cruise terminal today.

Yong Tai said it has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Singapore Cruise Center Pte Ltd (SCC), in relation to the proposed engagement of SCC as the terminal's operator and manager.

Yong Tai CEO Datuk Wira Boo Kuang Loon said the cruise terminal development would be integrated with the group’s Terra Square mixed development project in Impression City, which is also linked to Encore Melaka theatre.

“The completion of the cruise terminal is slated to be a major game changer for Impression City, further strengthening the mega-project’s gross development value over the long run,” he said.