UEM Group Chief: To Sell Stake in Time Engineering by Year-End

03 Oct 2012

KUALA LUMPUR--UEM Group Bhd., a Malaysian government-linked construction and property company, plans to divest its stake in software and data center services provider Time Engineering Bhd. (4456.KU) by end of this year as part of a broader effort to dispose of non-core assets, its chief executive said Wednesday. The company owned a 45% stake in Time Engineering as of Friday, according to Time Engineering's website. Based on Time Engineering's closing share price Wednesday, UEM Group's stake could be worth as much as 104.7 million ringgit ($34.2 million). UEM Group is working out the best way of moving ahead with the disposal, Chief Executive Izzaddin Idris told reporters on the sidelines of a company event. The planned sale comes as UEM Group has been tightening its focus on four businesses: expressways, property development, engineering and construction, and asset and facility management. It sold its entire 87% stake in pharmaceutical company Pharmaniaga Bhd. for MYR534 million to Boustead Holdings Bhd. (2771.KU) in March 2011. UEM Group is wholly owned by Khazanah Nasional Bhd., the investment holding arm of the Malaysian government. Apart from its stake in Time Engineering, UEM also owns controlling stakes in property developer UEM Land Holdings Bhd. (5148.KU) and hospital support services provider Faber Group Bhd. (1368.KU) as well as several unlisted companies, such as toll-highway operator PLUS Malaysia Bhd. and cement producer Cement Industries of Malaysia Bhd.