KUCHING: Bintulu Port Sdn Bhd (BPSB) has been granted another one year from July 1, 2023 to continue operating Bintulu Port.
The wholly-owned subsidiary of Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd (BPHB) has received a notification from Bintulu Port Authority (BPA) on the Cabinet’s approval for BPSB to continue operating Bintulu Port under the interim period of 12 months from July 1, 2023 with further extension of six months in the event the new privatisation agreement has yet to be finalised and executed, BPHB told Bursa Malaysia.
BPSB had on Nov 24, 2022 entered into an interim agreement with the Malaysian government represented by the Transport Ministry and BPA for BPSB to continue operating Bintulu Port under an interim period of six months, effective Jan 1, 2023 to June 30, 2023.
“Prior to these, the government had also granted approval in principle for BPSB to continue operating Bintulu Port for a period of 30 years, subject to the terms and conditions to be agreed by the parties.
“Negotiations on the new terms and conditions are still on-going and (the) parties are expected to conclude the same within this interim period,” added BPHB.
Bintulu Port is the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in East Asia and BPSB operates this South-East Asia busiest multi-purpose port connecting over 40 million tonnes of cargo per annum to major international ports.
In financial year ended Dec 31, 2022, BPSB recorded total cargo throughput of 43.98 million tonnes and container throughput of 364,169 TEUs, and registered 7,152 vessel calls. BPSB posted turnover of RM592.6 million and pre-tax profit of RM196.6 million during the year under review.
Meanwhile, Sarawak Cable Bhd (SCB) said the company and KAB Energy Holdings Sdn Bhd (KEH), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kejuruteraan Asastera Bhd (KAB), have mutually agreed to extend the conditional period for the proposed disposal of equity interest in PT Inpola Mitra Elektrindo (PT IME) for a further three months from April 30, 2023 to July 31, 2023.
On Feb 8, 2023, SCB said it had obtained leave from the High Court of Sarawak and Sabah for the proposed disposal. The company and the purchaser (KEH) had then mutually agreed to extend the conditional period until April 30, 2023.
To recap, SCB had on July 29, 2022 entered into a conditional share purchase agreement with KEH for the proposed disposal of 300,000 ordinary shares in PT IME, representing 100 per cent equity interest, to KEH.
The proposed disposal will be satisfied via two components, the first being a cash consideration of RM10,000 and secondly, the settlement of debts, liabilities and shareholders’ advances of PT IME capped at RM74.99 million.
PT IME is the owner and operator of a mini hydroelectric power plant with an installed capacity of 11 MW, located in North Sumatra, Indonesia. The commercial operation of the power plant, which is for a 20-year period, was achieved on Oct 12, 2021.
