TheEdge
KUALA LUMPUR: State-owned trustee company Amanah Raya Bhd (ARB) plans to list its newly-launched Safeena Islamic Marine Fund, a US$300 million (RM990 million) private investment scheme which will acquire and lease marine vessels, especially to oil and gas players.
The planned flotation, jointly undertaken by ARB’s unit AmanahRaya Investment Bank Ltd and Asian Finance Bank (AFB), would raise more money to buy more vessels, AmanahRaya Investment managing director Datuk Mohamed Azahari Kamil said.
“We hope that once Safeena has a credible track record, there could be a possibility that we could be submitting (an application) to the authorities for listing. In the the sector (oil and gas), we believe that there is a lack of funding ability at this point of time,” Mohamed Azahari told reporters yesterday at the launch of Safeena, and ARB’s 2007 annual report.
Safeena’s launch follows a memorandum of understanding between AmanahRaya Investment and AFB in October last year. Mohamed Azahari did not say when Safeena would be floated, only indicating that the exercise might be undertaken locally or abroad, depending on investors’ demands.
For a start, Safeena will secure about a third of its intended initial capital base of US$300 million from global investors, which may include pension funds. The balance will be derived from Islamic financing facilities.
Safeena, which targets annual returns of up to 10%, will have two earnings streams — recurrent leasing income from the charter of its marine vessels, and potential capital appreciation if the company sells its assets.
The unveiling of the 10-year close-end scheme is deemed timely. Soaring crude oil prices have prompted more oil and gas exploration leading to a shortage of support vessels globally. The scarcity, in turn, translates into higher charter rates.
Safeena, which has yet to secure any ships, hopes to land its maiden deal in three months. “We are currently evaluating proposals from various companies,” said Mohamed Azahari who assumed his current position at Labuan-based AmanahRaya Investment on June 2. He was formerly managing director and chief executive officer of AmanahRaya-JMF Asset Management Sdn Bhd.
Meanwhile, AmanahRaya Investment is also planning a US$100 million project development fund in collaboration with a South Korean investment bank. Mohamed Azahari said the fund would invest in property projects in China. He hoped that the fund would take off early next year.
ARB’s financials improved significantly in the year ended December 2007. Net profit more than doubled to RM111.43 million from RM42.97 million a year earlier after the group expanded its financial services portfolio, according to its annual report. Revenue also rose more than two-fold to RM249.63 million from 94.28 million.
Apart from its bread-and-butter portfolio, which includes estate administration and will writing, ARB also offers other services like asset management, personal financing, and property management.
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