Boustead Plantations announced it proposes to sell a piece of land for RM 620.1 Million:



The company specified the cost of investment:



The company gave more background over the history of the land:



Regarding the acquisition of the land, we can find more announcements here, the independent advice circular (dated November 20, 2013) of the Al-Hadharah Boustead REIT which was subsequently delisted.

The acquired land consists of 678 hectares of the 1,379 hectares from the Malakoff Estate in Penang:





In other words:

• Boustead Plantations proposes to sell a piece of land for RM 620.1 Million based on a valuation report by Raine & Horne dated December 1, 2016.
• The land was acquired for only RM 60.4 Million three years earlier based on a valuation report by WTW dated September 5, 2013.
• The difference in valuation is more than ten times over only three years, which seems shocking.

While the deal appears to be good for shareholders of Boustead Plantations, the previous unit holders of Al-Hadharah Boustead REIT might feel short changed.

The authorities should look into the two valuation reports (both the valuation given and the methods used), the difference in value looks much too large.

They should also revisit the delisting exercise of Al-Hadharah Boustead REIT to review if the deal for minority shareholders was indeed "fair and reasonable", as the independent adviser (Hong Leong Investment Bank) claimed.