2014 outlook: Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary

INVESTORS would do well to keep an eye on Syed Mokhtar. After a spate of privatisations over the past two years, the tycoon could be close to floating some of his assets on the market to pare down his debts.

What is certain is that MMC Corp Bhd will be listing power producer Malakoff Corp Bhd. This exercise was supposed to have taken place this year but has been delayed to next year due to upgrading works at its Tanjung Bin power plant in Johor.

But speculation has also been rife that more exercises are in the pipeline. Market rumours have mentioned possible listings of Syed Mokhtar’s port businesses, held under Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) and Johor Port. Syed Mokhtar’s flagship MMC owns 70% of PTP and 100% of Johor Port.

Despite an official denial by MMC a few weeks ago, rumours continue to circulate that PTP, the country’s No. 1 container port by volume, will hit the market next year.

However, banking sources have said it is unlikely that PTP will be listed in 2014 for two reasons: one that it is undergoing some expansion and hence it would be better off coming to the market once that is complete in order to enjoy the increased valuation. Another reason is that the group’s listing are tied in to its debt obligations and, at the moment, the only asset that needs to be floated to fulfil these obligations is Malakoff.

The Kedah-born tycoon could also take another stab at control of NCB Holdings Bhd, which owns Northport in Port Klang, even as he wraps up the privatisation of Penang Port Sdn Bhd.

StarBizWeek reported in January that Syed Mokhtar intended to break up the privatised Tradewinds group into four units – sugar, rice, palm oil and rubber – as a prelude to IPOs of first the sugar and then rice businesses.

Not to be left out is Syed Mokhtar’s foray into telecommunications via Puncak Semangat Sdn Bhd, which received a slice of the 2.6GHz spectrum that enables it to offer 4G-LTE services. Despite being a newcomer with little track record in telecommunications, Puncak Semangat, through Altel Communications Sdn Bhd, has since tied up with Celcom Axiata to pool their spectrum allocations. Altel chairman Datuk Hilmi Mohd Noor has been quoted as saying the company was targeting to invest some RM1bil to roll out its 4G-LTE product within the next five years.

DRB-Hicom Bhd, Syed Mokhtar’s other flagship, will also be closely watched as it engineers a turnaround of Proton and Lotus, as well as monetises lucrative parcels of land in Glenmarie, Shah Alam, Proton City, Rebak island, Iskandar Malaysia, and The Verge, a shopping mall in Singapore.

DRB-Hicom holds a 70% stake in Islamic lender Bank Muamalat and 32.2% in Pos Malaysia Bhd.

MMC too plans to unlock the value of its 4,500 acres in Johor. Some 650 acres in Senai are set to be developed into three projects under phase 1, while 1,000 acres have been set aside for Senai Hi-Tech City, according to analysts.

It has been reported that a tie-up with Syed Mokhtar’s long-time business partner, Mohamed Alabbar of Emaar Properties, the developer of the Burj Khalifa could be on the cards. A local media report has linked Alabbar with the RM6bil Tradewinds Centreproject in Kuala Lumpur.

Also expected soon is Cabinet approval for line 2 of the Klang Valley MRT. MMC forms one half the MMC-Gamuda joint venture tasked with the overall project management and tunnelling works for Malaysia’s largest infrastructure project.

BY JOHN LOH, thestar.com.my