Sarawak Cable tipped for electricity jobs

A well-connected firm is eyeing lucrative electricity infrastructure jobs in Sarawak. 

The federal government is allocating RM5.7bn under the “National Key Results Areas” to provide infrastructure to rural areas in Sarawak. Analysts reportedly expect a about a third of it to be allocated for electricity projects in Sarawak.

One of the firms anticipating jobs is Sarawak Cable Berhad.

The Edge reports:

SCB is tipped to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score) as it is one of the few companies with the capability to build transmission lines and substations and should accordingly, bag quite a few of the infrastructure jobs in the pipeline.

SCB reportedly is also part of  a consortium bidding for a RM2.5bn job to build transmission lines and substations along the 600km Bunut-Kuching line, which is supposed to connect smaller transmission lines.

And who owns SCB? According to The Edge:

The company is backed by well-connected shareholders who wield considerable clout within the state. For instance, state-owned Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB), has a 22% stake in the SCB. SEB is an important shareholder as it has been given the mandate to implement the power infrastructure masterplan under Score by the state government.

Datuk Seri Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib, the son of Chief Minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud, holds a 19% stake in SEB. Abu Bekir is SCB’s non-independent non-executive chairman.

Leader Universal Holdings Bhd, the largest cable and wire producer in Asean, has a 15% stake in SCB. It has been instrumental in developing SCB’s technical capabilities as well as supply it with mid-to large-sized power cables and wires for more than 20 years.

In other developments, the following announcement was filed with Bursa:

SARAWAK CABLE BERHAD
====09/09/2011     TRANSACTIONS (CHAPTER 10 OF LISTING REQUIREMENTS): RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

(I) PROPOSED ACQUISITION BY SCB OF THE REMAINING 25% EQUITY INTEREST IN SARWAJA TIMUR SDN BHD (“STSB”) NOT ALREADY OWNED BY SCB, FOR A PURCHASE CONSIDERATION OF RM11.02 MILLION TO BE SATISFIED VIA THE ISSUANCE OF 5,199,530 NEW ORDINARY SHARES OF RM0.50 EACH IN SCB (“SCB SHARES” OR “SHARES”) AT AN ISSUE PRICE OF RM2.12 PER SCB SHARE (“ISSUE PRICE”) (“PROPOSED STSB ACQUISITION”);

(II) PROPOSED ACQUISITION BY SCB OF 65% EQUITY INTEREST IN TRENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE SDN BHD (“TISB”) FOR A PURCHASE CONSIDERATION OF RM24.45 MILLION TO BE SATISFIED VIA THE ISSUANCE OF 11,533,020 NEW SCB SHARES AT THE ISSUE PRICE (“PROPOSED TISB ACQUISITION”); AND

(III) PROPOSED EXEMPTION FOR DATO SRI MAHMUD ABU BEKIR TAIB AND PERSONS ACTING IN CONCERT FROM THE OBLIGATION TO EXTEND A MANDATORY OFFER FOR THE REMAINING SCB SHARES NOT ALREADY OWNED BY THEM PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH 16.1(A), PRACTICE NOTE 9 OF THE MALAYSIAN CODE ON TAKE-OVERS AND MERGERS 2010 UPON COMPLETION OF THE PROPOSED STSB ACQUISITION AND PROPOSED TISB ACQUISITION

(COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO AS THE “PROPOSALS”)