Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMSB): Local Powerhouse Quietly Building a New Growth Supercycle

18/5/2025 Sunday

Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad (CMSB) is emerging from years of restructuring and legal overhang with renewed strength. Backed by rising government trust, major project wins, and the long-awaited activation of its phosphate division, CMSB is positioning itself as one of Sarawak’s most critical and resilient growth vehicles.

Its Sarawak-centric portfolio — spanning infrastructure, industrial materials, and digital assets — provides natural insulation from global economic shocks, while aligning tightly with state-driven development priorities.

Why Investors Should Pay Attention

Key Catalysts Driving CMSB’s New Growth Cycle

 BCCK II: Government Trust is Back

The RM550 million Borneo Convention Centre Kuching II (BCCK II) contract is not just a construction win — it symbolizes a restored confidence from the Sarawak government. This landmark award reaffirms CMSB’s role in long-term state planning and guarantees project earnings through at least 2028.

Phosphate Division: From Dormancy to Industrial Anchor

The CMS Phosphate plant in Samalaju Industrial Park is finally transitioning to operational status. Long delayed due to internal issues, the project is now set to contribute to group earnings, transforming CMSB into more than a legacy construction and cement player.

This division will cater to regional demand with localized supply chains and energy subsidies — insulating it from global price shocks while opening up a high-margin industrial revenue stream.

Cement Dominance: Clinker Expansion Signals Long-Term Commitment

CMSB’s proposal for a second clinker line — set to double capacity from 900,000 to 1.92 million tonnes — reinforces its dominance in Sarawak’s construction value chain. The move is both strategic and timely, ensuring cost leadership and supply security as the region’s infrastructure ramps up.

Digital Backbone: CMSB’s Ongoing Role in Sacofa

While the government (via SFS Incorporated) now holds majority control of Sacofa, CMSB retains a strategic minority stake. Sacofa manages 1,688 towers and over 12,000 km of fibre — making it the state’s telecommunications backbone. CMSB’s continued involvement cements its relevance in Sarawak’s digital transformation.

Strategic Realignments: The Subtle Rise of a New Power Behind CMSB

In 2025, a notable new name appeared in CMSB’s top 10 shareholders. This was not a passive investment — it marked a subtle shift in influence within the company, coinciding with CMSB’s regained strategic momentum.

Among the backdrop: the BCCK II win, growing government stake in Sacofa, and a clear resurgence in CMSB’s relevance in Sarawak’s long-term economic agenda. The investor is closely linked to the Chxws family — a name already associated with successful state-aligned corporate transformation.

Sarawak Tightens Its Grip: Strategic Consolidation Underway

Quietly but decisively, Sarawak is consolidating control over key strategic assets currently under the umbrella of CMSB — a conglomerate historically linked to the family of its former governor, the late Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud.

With CMSB’s influence waning and a bitter family feud unfolding over shareholdings, the state’s move to safeguard essential infrastructure — particularly in cement production and telecommunications — comes as no surprise.

According to sources cited by The Edge, a state-friendly fund is now eyeing the 18.22% stake held by the siblings of group managing director Datuk Seri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib — a clear signal that Sarawak intends to secure these assets for long-term sovereign control.

This power shift may mark the end of CMSB’s status as a legacy fiefdom — and the beginning of its role as a more state-aligned industrial proxy.

From Ibraxo to CMSB: A Playbook of Strategic Influence

Ibraxo Berhad was established in 1971 by the late Wan Alwi, a former Sarawak state assemblyman. After his passing in February 2012, the company underwent a foundational shift. But the seeds of transformation were planted earlier — in 2009, when Datuk Chxw, via Hiap Sdn Bhd, acquired a controlling stake.

Since then, under Datuk Chxw’s leadership, Ibraxo has expanded far beyond property development. It has become a key beneficiary of state infrastructure contracts — including the Pan Borneo-linked Sarawak Second Trunk Road, the Kuching Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART), and multiple road and township projects.

This close alignment with state development objectives reflects not just corporate strategy, but political calibration.

CMSB: Echoes of a Familiar Transition

CMSB — long seen as a legacy corporate linked to Sarawak’s political elite — is undergoing a quiet but significant realignment. With the founding leadership no longer active, a new class of stakeholders is emerging. The Chxws family’s entrance echoes a pattern seen at Ibraxo: strategic capital stepping in during post-founder transitions, just as state-linked project flows begin to accelerate.

Is This the Rise of a New Proxy Power?

Nothing is officially declared — but the narrative is unmistakable.

At both Ibraxo and now CMSB, the Chxws family enters not to disrupt, but to stabilize, align, and grow. Their investment moves are marked by political intuition and perfect timing, often just as companies become key executors of state-driven blueprints.

It may be too early to label the Chxws as Sarawak’s new corporate proxy. But their track record suggests they understand the unspoken rulebook of influence — where public-private alignment matters more than market timing, and where legacy companies are repurposed to serve the state’s next growth chapter.

CHATGPT Revised Internal Valuation Target: RM8.80

The market is beginning to re-rate CMSB, but at a cautious pace. With multiple growth engines coming online, visible state alignment, and a growing track record of delivery — a fair value of RM8.80 is justified.

This represents not just a valuation uplift — but recognition of CMSB’s strategic repositioning as Sarawak’s growth enabler for the decade ahead.

analyze by CHATGPT, TRADE AT YOUR OWN RISK, THIS IS NOT A BUY CALL.