New business to help MAA group exit PN17 status by end-2017

0

KUALA LUMPUR: After disposing of its Takaful unit, MAA Group Bhd is now looking to venture into the manufacturing and education businesses to help the group exit its PN17 status by the end of 2017.

For the purpose, the group has set aside about RM299.49 million, which is from the RM393.75 million proceeds that came from disposing of MAA Takaful Bhd.

However, talks on acquiring the new businesses have yet to be finalised, chief executive officer and group managing director Muhamad Umar Swift said.

Besides the new businesses, part of the proceeds will also be used to enhance the group’s earnings profile, regularise its financial condition and  address its PN17 status, under which it has been classified since 2011, he said. PN17 stands for Practice Note 17/2005 and is issued by Bursa Malaysia to companies that are in financial distress.

“(Wth talks on the new businesses still ongoing) it would take about 12 to 18 months (from June this year) for the group to exit from the PN17 status,” he told reporters after the company’s Annual General Meeting here.

He also said the MAA Group’s listing status would be maintained. Disposing of its 75 per cent stake in MAA Takaful to Zurich Insurance Co Ltd has allowed the group to exit the tightly regulated financial services sector, he said.

“We will (now) enjoy the added advantage of being able to pursue opportunities outside of the sector as well as address the issue of the PN17 status of the company (much faster),” he added.

The MAA Group is also proposing to declare an interim special dividend of 35 sen per MAA share, which will be announced later. The proposed special dividend will amount to about RM100.76 million. At lunch break, the stock was flat at RM1.17 with 142,700 shares traded. — Bernama