Karambunai Corp: No notification from govt to develop eco-nature resort, no MoU signed with SPV

Karambunai Corporation Bhd (KCB) has clarified that it has not received any notification from the government nor has it signed any agreement with or have shareholding in special purpose vehicle (SPV) originated by its controlling shareholder, together with a Beijing-based contractor, to develop an integrated eco-nature resort in Karambunai.

Karambunai Corp's controlling shareholder is low-profile tycoon Tan Sri Dr Chen Lip Keong.

Karambunai Corp is one of the largest resort operators in Kota Kinabalu with its Nexus Karambunai Hotel resort in Sabah. The Main Board-listed company has 600ha of land in the Karambunai peninsula. About 130ha have been used to build the five-star Nexus Resort Karambunai, Nexus Golf Resort Karambunai and 200-odd units of luxury beachfront villas.

The company came under the spotlight after it was mentioned in the 2011 Budget Speech that there were plans to develop an integrated eco-nature resort in Karambunai.

The government announced in its Budget 2011 on Oct 15 that it would allocate RM100 million to part finance developer and resort operator Karambunai Corp’s integrated eco-tourism resort in Kota Kinabalu.

The RM3 billion project is slated to start next year and is expected to take about five years to complete.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia on Friday, Oct 22, KCB said the promoter was a SPV specifically incorporated to assess the feasibility of investing in the Karambunai Peninsula.

“Together with its local and overseas consultants, including its financial consultant China CONSTRUCTION [] Bank International, the SPV aims at bringing in foreign direct investments to Malaysia and has presented proposals to the Malaysian government to assess the relevance and importance of developing Karambunai, Sabah to spearhead the growth of tourism in the Eastern corridor of Malaysia.

“Up to date, Karambunai Corp has no shareholding in the SPV, nor has it received any official notification from the government or signed any MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) or agreement with the SPV to develop Karambunai yet,” it said.

However, both the management of Karambunai Corp and SPV have concrete, specific, clear time-line plans and commitments to the Malaysian government to attain the desired results under Economic Transformation Programmes as envisaged by the Government, it said.

The company said its board of directors was of the opinion that there were not yet corporate developments which merit disclosure. - by Surin Murugiah