KUALA LUMPUR: Main Market-listed company Industronics Bhd has successfully been shortlisted for the Kedah Aerotropolis development project together with its partners, Bluemount Financial Group Ltd and China Investment Corp (CIC).
Bluemount is a Hong Kong stockbroking, asset management and credit firm with a strategic relationship with Industronics.
Industronics executive director Datuk Chu Boon Tiong recently acquired a 10% stake in Bluemount in October after the group’s proposed acquisition of Bluemount was delayed.
Bluemount will submit for its initial public offering (IPO) in London by the end of this year, and the listing is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2023.
The successful listing will help Bluemount to expand its services with the target market in Hong Kong, China, Europe and the Southeast Asia region. This will provide a huge opportunity for Bluemount to grow its business by having access to the population of around 1.4 billion in China, 746 million in Europe and 684 million in Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, CIC is a sovereign wealth fund in China that was established in 2007 with a registered capital of US$200 billion (RM886 billion). Since then, the Chinese sovereign wealth fund has grown by leaps and bounds.
Total asset under management (AUM) reached US$1.35 trillion as at end-2021. CIC has a strong track record of annualised cumulative 10-year return reaching 8.73%.
“This is an exciting opportunity for us to participate in this €3.3 billion (RM15.5 billion) project that is slated to be an iconic infrastructure in Kedah. This shortlisting recognises our strong track record and established partners with strong financial backing, which puts us in a good position to secure the proposed development of Aerotropolis in Kedah,“ said Industronics executive director Datuk Chu Boon Tiong.
The partnership between Industronics and its Chinese partners will continue to gain momentum with the reopening of China, allowing for more business opportunities.
Aside from the collaboration on the Kedah Airport project, CIC has also agreed to support the expansion plans of Industronis’ credit leasing arm, TTE Electronics Sdn Bhd (TTE Electronics) by investing in its microfinancing business.
TTE Electronics owns a leasing licence and is also involved in the micro financing and credit leasing business.
The group plans to expand its presence in the credit leasing business via its wholly-owned subsidiary, TTE Electronics and will seek approval from the Securities Commission (SC) to raise funding of RM1 billion for its expansion into Southeast Asia.
The expansion will also see a strategic collaboration with TTE Electronics with Bikesome, a second-hand motorbike platform in Asia, for the credit leasing of motorbikes.
According to Datuk Chu, TTE Electronics’s expansion is expected to gain momentum with the investment of its new partner, CIC.
“With CIC coming in to support our credit leasing business, this would enhance our brand and market position in the region as these investments could accelerate the advancement of our credit facilities and operations. It also allows us to expand into other competitive markets in Southeast Asia,“ Chu said.
He added that the group’s expansion into Southeast Asia is expected to pave a new growth driver for the group.
“Bikesome aims to be the largest second-hand motorbike platform in Asia by taping on the reopening of the economy,“ Chu said.
