MMC Port

by HABHAJAN SINGH

THE nation’s largest container port operator MMC Port Holdings Bhd (MMC Ports) is all set to move ahead with its initial public offering (IPO) which is expected to be the largest in Malaysia since 2012.

MMC Ports, which is also a major container hub for transshipment and gateway cargo, has lodged its IPO prospectus for the major corporate transaction with the Securities Commission (SC).

The IPO consists of the institutional offering and the retail offering totalling up to 4.272 billion offer shares, representing up to 30.0% of its issued shares.

MMC Ports could seek to raise about US$2 billion (RM8.4 billion) in a share sale as soon as September. The planned listing could value the company at as much as US$7 billion, according to unnamed sources who previously spoke to Bloomberg.

The institutional price for the IPO will be determined by a bookbuilding process, according to the prospectus.

CIMB Investment Bank Bhd has been appointed as its principal adviser, sole managing underwriter and joint underwriter while CIMB Investment and the Singapore-branch of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd are the joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners.

The legal advisers on board for the deal are Malaysian-based firms Lee Choon Wan & Co and Kadir Andri & Partners as well as Singapore-based Latham & Watkins LLP and Baker & McKenzie Wong & Leow.

As the company will not be issuing any new shares under the IPO, the company stated in the prospectus that it will not receive any proceeds from the IPO.

MMC Ports is home to a galaxy of ports which provide a mix of container, conventional cargo, marine and other services tailored to their business and customers.

Under its wings are Johor Port which is operated by Johor Port Bhd (JPB), Northport and Southpoint in Selangor operated by NCB Holdings Bhd unit NMB, Penang Port operated by Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB), Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) in Johor which is operated by Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas Sdn Bhd (PTPSB), Tanjung Bruas Port in Melaka operated by Tanjung Bruas Port Sdn Bhd and Yan STS Port in Kedah where Andaman Port Sdn Bhd conducts its ship-to-ship transfer services.

The Government, through the MOF Inc, holds one special share in each of PTPSB, JPB, NMB and PPSB, entitling it to nominate one director to the boards.

On its competitiveness, MMC Ports presents itself as a leading privately-owned port operating group in Southeast Asia with capabilities to handle a wide range of cargo types with a balanced mix of transshipment and gateway services

It also underlined that it is strategically located along the Strait of Malacca, Southeast Asia’s gateway to global trade driven by the fast-growing Malaysian economy as well as its integrated port ecosystem with excellent integrated connectivity to Malaysia infrastructure, hinterlands and industrial parks.

Johor Port, for example, serves more than 30 industrial areas in Johor, Malaysia’s third largest manufacturing state, including two large industrial areas, namely the Pasir Gudang Industrial Zone that covers a land area of 3,237 hectares and the Tanjung Langsat Industrial Complex that covers a land area of 2,023 hectares.

MMC Corp, the promoter and substantial shareholder of MMC Ports, was previously listed on the main board of Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, now known as the Bursa Securities, in July 1977. It was then taken private in December 2021, with a market valuation of RM6.1 billion.

For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2024 (FY24), MMC Ports posted a net profit of M636.6 million on RM4.357 billion in revenue, compared to a net profit of RM701.1 million and a revenue of RM3.961 billion in FY23. In FY22, it posted a net profit of RM471.8 million on a revenue of RM4.058 billion.

The prospectus noted that MMC Corp will not be allowed to sell, transfer or assign any of their respective holdings in MMC Ports for a period of six months from the date of the listing. Likewise for Seaport Terminal, being the sole shareholder of MMC Corp, and Indra Cita, being the sole shareholder of Seaport Terminal.

Seaport Terminal is an indirect holding company of MMC Ports and MMC Corp is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Seaport Terminal. 

The directors of Seaport Terminal are Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Shah Syed Nor and his son Syed Danial. Indra Cita is wholly-owned by Syed Mokhtar, with his wife Sharifah Zarah Syed Kechik Albukhary holding one share.

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