Malaysia's MMC Port lines up cornerstone investors aiming for October IPO, sources say
The IPO would be Malaysia's biggest since IHH Healthcare's (IHHH.KL), opens new tab $2.1 billion debut in 2012, and Southeast Asia's largest since Indonesian tech firm Bukalapak (BUKA.JK), opens new tab raised $1.5 billion in 2021, according to LSEG data.
The country's biggest port operator, a wholly owned unit of conglomerate MMC Corp, is in talks with more than 20 potential cornerstone investors, the sources said.
Cornerstone investors are typically large institutional funds that commit to buying shares before an IPO opens to the public.
A strong lineup is expected to bolster confidence in the offering and lift sentiment in Malaysia's IPO market, which, according to LSEG, raised $751.2 million in the first half of 2025, up 17.9% from a year earlier.
Both domestic and global institutions are involved in the discussions, including BlackRock (BLK.N), opens new tab, UBS Asset Management, Malaysia's largest fund manager Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), the country's biggest pension fund, the sources said.
The sources declined to be named as the information is private and discussions are ongoing.
MMC Port and its parent company did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on Monday. BlackRock, PNB and EPF also did not immediately respond. UBS declined to comment.
Reuters reported in February that MMC Port's IPO could raise more than 6 billion ringgit in the second half of 2025.
The company, which operates five ports along the Straits of Malacca, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, filed a draft prospectus with the Securities Commission Malaysia in late June without specifying the IPO size or timeline.
According to the filing, MMC Port posted a 9.2% drop in 2024 net profit to 636.6 million ringgit, despite a nearly 10% rise in revenue to 4.36 billion ringgit.
Proceeds from the IPO will go to MMC Corp, which plans to divest up to a 30% stake in its port unit. MMC Port will not receive any funds from the listing.
($1 = 4.2250 ringgit)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Accel-backed Bluestone Jewellery cuts India IPO size
Aug 5 (Reuters) - India's Bluestone Jewellery and Lifestyle ( opens new tab reduced the size of its initial public offering (IPO), a prospectus showed on Tuesday. The Accel India-backed company will now issue fresh shares worth 8.2 billion rupees (about $93 million), down from 10 billion rupees earlier. Its existing shareholders, including venture capital firms Accel India and Kalaari Capital, will now sell 13.9 million shares in the offering, lower than the 24 million shares proposed earlier. The jeweller was seeking a valuation of at least 120 billion rupees ($1.37 billion) in the IPO, Reuters reported in December, citing sources. The overall IPO size was slated to be around 30 billion rupees, the sources had said. The company, which sells diamond, gold, platinum and studded jewellery, competes with Titan ( opens new tab, Kalyan Jewellers ( opens new tab and Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri ( opens new tab among listed firms in India. Proceeds from the offering will be used to fund working capital requirements and general corporate purposes, the Bluestone prospectus showed. Axis Capital, IIFL Capital and Kotak Mahindra Capital are its bookrunning lead managers. ($1 = 87.7790 Indian rupees)
Reuters
7 hours ago
- Reuters
Saudi Aramco profit drops as it flags cost cuts, divestments
DUBAI, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco ( opens new tab reported a 22% drop in second-quarter profit on Tuesday, and the world's top oil exporter said it was cutting costs and looking to divest assets as crude prices drop and its debt mounts. The firm's generous dividends, a key source of funding for ambitious plans to cut the kingdom's reliance on oil, will be about a third lower this year Aramco reported its 10th decline in quarterly net profit to $22.7 billion in the three months ended June 30, from $29.1 billion a year earlier. Adjusted net income fell 13.7% to $24.5 billion, above a company-provided median analyst estimate of $23.7 billion. "What we're looking at across the portfolio is to unlock capital that is currently locked into low - relatively low-return (assets) ... invest it in our core investment, which are high return," CFO Ziad Al-Murshed told reporters. He declined to name the assets, but said: "it is your typical low-return that is tied in things like infrastructure." Reuters reported last month that Aramco was close to a deal to raise $10 billion from a group led by BlackRock, and is considering selling up to five gas-powered power plants to raise up to $4 billion. Aramco's average realised crude oil price was $66.7 a barrel in the quarter, down from $85.7 in the second quarter of 2024 and $76.3 in the first quarter of this year. Total borrowing rose to $92.9 billion at June 30 from $74.4 a year prior. Gearing, a measure of indebtedness, rose to 6.5% from minus 0.3% a year earlier and 5.3% the previous quarter. The company, long a reliable source of revenue for the Saudi state, confirmed a previously outlined $21.3 billion in total dividends for the second quarter, about $200 million of which is performance-linked dividends. Aramco in March outlined total dividends of $85.4 billion for 2025 - a 31% drop from more than $124 billion the previous year. The performance-linked component is set to plunge 98% from 2024 to $900 million as the company's free cash flow dwindles. Free cash flow dropped nearly a fifth year-on-year in the second quarter to $15.2 billion. For the Saudi government, which owns 81.5% of Aramco shares directly and another 16% through its sovereign wealth fund PIF, dividends are a critical source of income, particularly as it invests to diversify the economy away from oil. Oil generated 62% of the government's revenue last year. The International Monetary fund estimates the kingdom needs oil prices at more than $90 a barrel to balance its 2025 budget. Global crude benchmark Brent was trading at $68.83 on Tuesday. "We've pencilled in for Saudi Arabia to run a budget deficit of 5.0% of GDP this year," said James Swanston, senior economist at Capital Economics, adding the government would likely overshoot its annual borrowing plan. That would be more than double the 2.3%, or about $27 billion, deficit the kingdom projected in November for the 2025 budget.
Reuters
7 hours ago
- Reuters
Thailand plans $572 million stimulus spending and will compensate border conflict casualties
BANGKOK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Thailand will spend 18.5 billion baht ($572 million) on stimulus measures to support the economy as it braces for the impact of U.S. tariffs, and will compensate families of those who died in last month's border conflict, officials said on Tuesday. The stimulus measures approved by cabinet are aimed at enhancing economic competitiveness and supporting student loans, Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat told reporters. The government still has about 25 billion baht of funds to use to mitigate the impact of U.S. tariffs and for broader relief efforts, Julapun said. The U.S. last week set a 19% tariff on imported goods from Thailand, lower than the 36% rate announced earlier this year and more aligned with other countries in the region. Julapun said cabinet gave the government approval to prepare a joint statement on tariffs and trade with the United States, but said discussions were ongoing and there was no set signing date. On Tuesday, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said it expected the economy to grow 1.7% this year. That is below both the finance ministry's revised forecast of 2.2% growth in 2025 and last year's actual growth of 2.5%. The cabinet also approved a 10 million baht ($310,000) payment to the families of government officials who died in the July conflict with Cambodia, while those injured will receive up to 1 million baht, government spokesperson Jirayu Huangsap told a briefing. Families of Thai civilians who died during the conflict will each receive a payment of 8 million baht, he said, while the injured would receive up to 800,000 baht. ($1 = 32.35 baht)
