China's Jian Kun eyes listed firms here

KUALA LUMPUR: China's Jian Kun International Group is in talks with Datuk Ng Kek Kiong of Nagamas International Bhd to invest in companies listed on Bursa Malaysia.
Chairman Huang Wei Seng said it is eyeing financially-sound public-listed companies (PLCs) that are involved in property development, travel and tourism, and logistics.

He said investments will be made via MB Longji Sdn Bhd, a company jointly owned by Ng and a Chinese partner.

MB Longji, which is a member of Malaysia-Beijing Group of Companies founded by Ng, currently holds substantial stakes in several PLCs, including Nagamas.

It is also involved in China's RM5 billion residential and commercial integrated development called Jian Kun International City (JKIC), which is owned by Jian Kun.
"We plan to invest in MB Longji as this would immediately give us an indirect shareholding in the companies that it already has interest in.

"We will invest in other companies where our ultimate aim is to have substantial shareholding," Huang said after the launch of Jian Kun MB International (Jian Kun MB) Sdn Bhd and JKIC, here, yesterday.

Jian Kun MB will be the new name for MB Longji, following the investment from the Chinese group.

"We are currently negotiating the investment deal with MB Longji, which we hope to finalise soon," Huang said.

JKIC, meanwhile, is a long-term development in Suining, the hub city between Chengdu and Chongqing, which is a logistics port in West China.

It will feature an international exhibition and trade centre, office towers, residences, hotels, a mall, entertainment hub, warehousing and logistics.

MB Longji is investing 1.8 billion yuan (RM959 million) to build four- and five-star hotels and 500 units of serviced apartments, and another three billion yuan to construct the Asean Trade Centre.

"The estimated gross development value for the apartments is around RM210 million and they will be developed over 10 years," Ng said.