Ekuinas to invest RM600m this year

KUALA LUMPUR: Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas),
which had tripled its investments to RM1.5 billion as at December 2012
from three years ago, received an additional RM600 million from the
government to invest this year.

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“This year, we are very positive over the Malaysian economy. We hope to
invest RM600 million,” said chief executive officer Abdul Rahman Ahmad.

“So
far, in the first four months of this year, we’ve committed RM49
million in an IT (information technology) services company and an
electricity transmission company,” he told reporters at a briefing here
yesterday.

Asked whether Ekuinas is limiting its investments to
oil and gas, education and fast-moving consumer goods, Abdul Rahman said
the company is also keen on the healthcare sector.

Asked if this
will be a wise move, especially when other government-linked companies
like Sime Darby, KPJ Healthcare and IHH Healthcare already control the
lion’s share of the hospital
market, he replied: “We’re not necessarily looking to invest in hospitals. We’re more interested in the supporting services”.






Abdul Rahman also said Ekuinas, a government-linked private equity
fund, is gearing up for the listing of its portfolio companies under
Icon Offshore Bhd and Ekuinas Education Group.

Ekuinas Education
Group, comprising five institutions, is one of the largest Malaysian
education groups with a combined enrolment
of over 28,000 students.

Icon
Offshore, which groups Tanjung Kapal Services Sdn Bhd and OMNI
Petromaritime Sdn Bhd, is Malaysia’s third largest offshore support
vessel company. To date, it has around RM1 billion
in assets.

“We hope to list Icon Offshore on the stock market early next year,” he added.

Commenting
on Ekuinas’ 2012 financial results, Abdul Rahman said RM123.6 million,
or 33.5 per cent, of total portfolio gain had already been realised
through dividend income from portfolio companies and divestment
proceeds.

Meanwhile, Ekuinas chairman Raja Tan Sri Arshad Raja
Tun Uda said Ekuinas has raised the total Bumiputera equity value in its
portfolio companies by RM1.9 billion or 1.4 times of its
total capital invested.

More
importantly, he said, the total shareholder value of Ekuinas portfolio
companies also rose by RM2.4 billion or 1.7 times of the capital
invested.

“We hope to continue our strategy in transforming high
potential mid-sized local companies into future market leaders in their
respective industries,” Raja Arshad said.