(From left) EVlution chief executive officer Dr Jeffrey CC Ong, Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook, and RHB Banking Group group managing director Mohd Rashid Mohamad at the roll-out of EVlution charging stations with Mastercard and RHB Bank Bhd on Tuesday. (Photo by Shahrill Basri/The Edge)

KUALA LUMPUR (April 16): Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said his ministry has no objection to MMC Corp Bhd divesting a stake in MMC Port Holdings Sdn Bhd, including to foreign entities, as long as it does not contravene the government's policy that requires 51% ownership of major national assets to remain with local companies.

The government should also be notified if there are any changes in the shareholding structure of the port operator, Malaysia's biggest, as it involves the government’s concessions, Loke said.

He, however, said he had not been informed of any divestment plans involving MMC Port.

Loke was responding to reporters' question as to whether he was aware that a foreign investor was looking to buy up to 49% of MMC Port at more than RM12 billion from its parent company MMC Corp, which is controlled by tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary.

“Really? I don't know. I [and the Ministry of Transport or MOT] haven't been informed yet. So, that was a corporate consideration,” Loke told reporters on Tuesday after officiating the 2024 roll-out of EVlution charging stations with Mastercard and RHB Bank Bhd.

He also noted that the involvement of foreign firms in Malaysian businesses, including ports, is not new, citing as example the Port of Tanjung Pelepas, a 70:30 joint venture between MMC Corp and APM Terminals — the port operating arm of Netherlands-based AP Moller-Maersk.

“If the parties that get this concession or the shareholders of this concession feel that there is a synergy, of course, they will make considerations in terms of corporate and commercials. It is up [to the parties involved],” he added.

In December last year, The Edge reported that MMC Corp was looking to sell up to a 49% stake in MMC Port to an international private equity infrastructure fund, namely US-based Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), citing sources.

On Monday, Bloomberg reported that GIP had called off the plan to buy a 49% stake in MMC Port due to its valuation, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The report said Syed Mokhtar was seeking a valuation of RM15 billion to RM20 billion for MMC Port, which would have made it Malaysia’s biggest-ever port deal if the deal went through.

But while it was understood that GIP had put its plans on hold, other bidders for a stake could emerge, the report said.