Jimah Energy plans listing - NST (Business Times)

The listing is targeted for mid-2011 but there are details to be sorted out, including the name the listed company will carry, says its chairman


Independent power producer Jimah Energy Ventures Sdn Bhd is planning to go public in what could be one of the bigger initial public offerings (IPO) of 2011.

A merchant banker has been hired but there are many details yet to be finalised.

"The listing is targeted for mid-2011 but there are details to be sorted out including the name the listed company will carry," its chairman Tunku Naquiyuddin Tuanku Ja'afar said.

He expects Jimah to raise "hundreds of million ringgit" from the IPO.

"A lot of the funding is by project financing and we just need a capital base," he said, adding that the equity portion could be about 30 per cent.

"The reason we are listing is because we have been invited by the Energy Commission to bid for an additional 1,000 megawatts (MW)," Tunku Naquiyuddin told Business Times in an interview.

1,000MW, we have to have our capital structure right. And to get the capital structure right, we thought (going) public was one of the ways," he added.

He was quick to point out that Jimah was not raising money from the IPO to help settle borrowings.

In 2005, the company raised RM6.1 billion in Islamic funds to part-finance the construction and commissioning of its two 700MW plants in Jimah.

"The loans are being paid off as we are progressing, which is according to schedule. And we have an excellent cash flow as well," he said.

Tunku Naquiyuddin hopes to maintain control of Jimah after its listing.

A search with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) shows that Jimah has an issued capital of RM5 million. Jimah Teknik holds 70 per cent of the company, Jimah O & M Sdn Bhd owns 10 per cent and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) the remaining 20 per cent.

It had yet to determine how much TNB will have after the listing.

Jimah has two 700MW power plants. The first commercial operation date was on January 1 2009 and the second on July 1 2009. Both coal-fired units supply the electricity to TNB.

The plants are located in Mukim Jimah in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan and is capable of accommodating up to three additional units of 700MW each.

In the financial year ended December 31 2009, Jimah made a loss after tax of RM435.73 million on the back of RM1.04 billion revenue.

Tunku Naquiyuddin feels that Jimah will move into positive territory in the current financial year.

"We have been operating at nearly full capacity for a good six months now," he said.

A 1,000MW unit could take five years to build from planning to completion.

"As we understand, there are two players invited - Jimah and Malakoff Corp Bhd's Tanjung Bin," he said.

The plant, to be ready in 2016, will be a super critical plant, which he said is more efficient and has less emissions.




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