Govt printers set to be listed

PNMB eligible but there’s no word yet

KUALA LUMPUR: Although the past performance of Percetakan Nasional Malaysia Bhd (PNMB) makes it eligible for listing on Bursa Malaysia, the management has not been told whether it is one of the 33 government-linked companies (GLCs) that have recently been earmarked as ready for divestment.

Managing director Izham Yusoff said PNMB had been profitable “since day one” because its role was primarily to cater to the public sector's printing needs.

He, however, clarified that the business was not a monopoly because the government departments were free to use other printers. He added that the company's annual revenue was about RM160mil, while its after-tax profit averaged between RM15mil and RM20mil.

Under the Securities Commission's Equity Guidelines, a company seeking to list on Bursa Malaysia's Main Market must have an aggregate after-tax profit of RM20mil over its last three to five financial years, with at least RM6mil in after-tax profit for the latest financial year.

“We are ready to be listed any time, based on our track record,” Izham told StarBiz.

“But we will wait for instructions from the Finance Ministry when the time comes. So far, we have not got anything yet. That's a shareholder matter.”

Wholly-owned by the Minister of Finance Inc (MOF Inc), the printer has long been seen as a privatisation candidate. It was among the many government-owned entities that were corporatised in the 1990s as part of the implementation of the Privatisation Masterplan, released in February 1991. Prior to its corporatisation, PNMB was the National Printing Department.

Listed companies that originated from the civil service include Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), Telekom Malaysia Bhd, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), Padiberas Nasional Bhd and Pos Malaysia Bhd.

According to the masterplan, the National Printing Department could be privatised within two years, but this never happened.

“We were corporatised in 1993. Our peers were the likes of MAHB, Telekom and TNB. All those were listed,” said Izham.

“We're the only one left. I guess the employees are expecting that we will be listed at some point.”

While PNMB has been mentioned several times as likely to be privatised, it is not clear if the Government has definite plans to float the company's shares on the stock exchange. There has been talk of local tycoons eyeing the company, and a sale to the private sector may be an option.

At Invest Malaysia in March last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the Government would gradually reduce public-sector involvement in activities that competed directly with the private sector.

He added that PNMB was among the GLCs that were being considered for privatisation.

He next disclosed that Petronas had identified two subsidiaries for listing, which led to speculation that PNMB might also be listed.

The 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) also touches on the privatisation of MOF Inc companies, including PNMB, adding that this will be completed by 2015.

“The Government will divest its ownership stakes in such a way as to ensure that these assets are broadly held and that the divestment and privatisation initiatives will not affect public interest or the well-being of the rakyat,” said the 10MP.

“In carrying out divestments, rigorous checks will be put in place to ensure that they are in the public interest and transparent processes will ensure that potential private sector bidders meet a minimum set of criteria, including financial standing, success in business expansion and management excellence, and that their proposals support the 1Malaysia cause.”

In giving an update on the Economic Transformation Programme on July 5, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala said the Government had identified 33 GLCs as ready for divestment over the next few years, either by paring down the Government's stakes, via listings or through outright sales.

Izham said PNMB had several major challenges to grapple with, including the impact of the initiatives towards a paperless government, the shift from offset printing to digital printing, and the need to derive more of the company's revenue from the private sector.