PETALING JAYA: Boustead group’s 20% stake in its naval shipyard subsidiary has been sold to a government-controlled company for RM1, as part of a government takeover to ensure completion of the troubled littoral combat ship programme.
Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation announced the sale in a stock exchange filing today. It said the sale is expected to be completed by the end of the year, Bernama reported.
BHIC said it was selling the 20.77% stake in Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd to Ocean Sunshine Bhd, which is indirectly owned by the Minister of Finance (Incorporated).
The shipyard was awarded a contract to build six frigates of the Gowind design for the Malaysian navy. However, only one ship was completed after the expenditure of RM6 billion, a parliamentary committee said last year.
BHIC’s parent company, Boustead Holdings Bhd, currently owns 68.85% of BNS, while the Armed Forces Fund Board, which controls the Boustead group, holds the remaining 10.38%.
The government’s proposed takeover of BNS, to ensure the success of the troubled-LCS programme, was announced in May by defence minister Mohamad Hasan.
The government also announced it was pumping in additional funds of nearly RM2 billion and reduced the number of ships to five instead of six.
The delivery schedule was also extended, with the lead ship KD Maharaja Lela to be delivered in 2026, seven years after the original date, and the final ship, KD Tok Janggut, in 2029, five years later than planned.
Boustead Naval Shipyard recorded losses after tax of RM150 million and net liabilities of RM848 million for its 2022 financial year. - FMT
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