31/01/2026

BIZ & FINANCE SATURDAY | JAN 31, 2026

FOLLOW

ON TWITTER Malaysian Paper

12

@thesundaily

Hartanah Kenyalang wins RM275m Sibu prison contract

PETALING Hartanah Kenyalang Bhd’s wholly owned subsidiary, Hartanah Construction Sdn Bhd, has received a letter of award from the Public Works Department (PWD) under the Ministry of Works to design and build a prison in Sibu, Sarawak, for RM275.3 million. The contract period for the new prison is 36 months, commencing on Feb 9, and targeted for handover to the PWD by Feb 8, 2029. To recap, Malaysia’s prison development and management budget is allocated as specific amounts within the annual national budgets and is primarily managed by the Home Affairs Ministry. Recent budgets have focused on new construction, facility upgrades, and rehabilitation programs to address overcrowding in Malaysian prisons. One of the specific allo cations for prison development mentioned in Budget 2026 includes the construction of a prison in Sibu. The new facility, which can house up to 1,000 inmates, will replace an ageing, overcrowded prison built in 1918, with an existing capacity of up to 450 inmates. The Home Affairs Ministry has approved the construction of the JAYA:

dated schools, to institutional build ings such as Yayasan International secondary schools, Sarawak Sta dium, State Archive Building and the Sibu prison. “We are always mindful to continuously innovate and explore new construction methods to expand our design and build services capabilities so as to capture a wider range of clients in today’s competitive construction industry, complemented by the use of building information modelling application,” he said in a statement. Seah also said Hartanah Kenyalang has secured a RM42.8 million contract to build an immigration post and quarters in Serikin, Bau, Sarawak and a RM184.3 million contract to repair and upgrade Sarawak Stadium. “Coupled with the winning of the

o Company awarded job by PWD to design and build facility, with capacity to house 1,000 inmates, to replace ageing and overcrowded one

RM275.3 million contract to build the Sibu prison, the total unbilled order book of our company has increased from about RM142.5 million as at March 31, 2025, to RM567.7 million as at Jan 30, 2026. “The sharp increase in our company’s unbilled order book signifies our management’s count less efforts to continuously bid for various types of institutional building projects from different government bodies. The unbilled order book value of RM567.7 million also signifies the highest value of ongoing contracts in Hartanah Kenyalang’s operating history,” Seah said.

welfare of inmates but also the working environment of Sibu prison officers. “This award represents the largest contract secured by our company in our 12 years of operating history in the con struction industry in Sarawak. “The award of this contract signifies a major breakthrough for our company’s design and build team, proving our capabilities to expand in the construction of different types of buildings from commercial shophouses and dilapi

new prison at an estimated RM300 million. Hartanah Kenyalang executive director and managing director Seah Boon Tiat said the company is grateful that the PWD has given it this opportunity to participate in building the Sibu prison to assist the Home Affairs Ministry in resolving the overcrowded situation in the existing prison. “This Sibu prison will be equipped with modern facilities and equipment that not only improve the living conditions and

Petronas outlook neutral on upstream activities: Kenanga IB KUALA LUMPUR: Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd (Kenanga IB) said the recently released Petronas Activity Outlook (2026-2028) is largely neutral about the upstream services sector due to ageing vessels and rig supply in the local market. The investment bank, however, said rig and offshore support vessel (OSV) undersupply dynamics will partially negate the overall weakening of activities compared to a previous outlook report released a year ago. “We maintain our neutral call on the sector despite Petronas’ weaker forward guidance. Upstream service providers’ valuations have largely been priced in. The overall subsector’s balance sheet is in a much better shape versus previous cycles, and the risk of asset impairment is low,”Kenanga IB said in a research note yesterday. The investment bank expects exploration activities to ramp up significantly in 2026, setting up more upside potential for service providers such as Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd, Velesto Energy Bhd and Keyfield International Bhd in 2027 and beyond. However, upstream maintenance, drilling and OSV requirement guidance have declined for 2026 compared with the 2025-2027 outlook, indicating weaker activities. Meanwhile, Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) said the 2026-2028 report is positive about hook-up and commissioning activities and expects plant maintenance providers to be winners, while drilling rig players may see weaker activities this year. HLIB said this may mean mild headwinds for Dayang’s topside maintenance activities, while resilient hook-up and commissioning activities are expected to underpin contractors with stronger exposure to commissioning works, such as Deleum Bhd. Malaysia’s dominant pipe-coating player, Wasco Bhd, stands to benefit from the ramp-up in activity once projects move into the execution phase, it added. The report also said Petronas has guided a relatively flat OSV demand of 106 vessels annually across 2026-2028, moderating from the higher OSV utilisation levels seen in 2025. – Bernama

UMediC leases land from PDC in Penang to house new manufacturing facility

PETALING JAYA: UMediC Group Bhd, a prominent medical devices marketing and distribution provider that also manu factures its own range of medical consumables, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary UWHM Sdn Bhd has signed a lease agreement with Penang Development Corporation (PDC) for 3.06 acres of industrial land located in Batu Kawan Industrial Park 3, Penang. The land will be leased from PDC for 60 years. The lease consideration of RM11.4 million, to be paid in tranches, will be funded through a combination of internal funds and bank borrowings. The industrial land will be utilised to house a new manufacturing facility to

ramp up production of its HydroX series prefilled humidifier. UMediC executive director and CEO Lim Taw Seong said this announcement is a strategic step to strengthen the company’s manufacturing foundation and support the group’s long-term growth plans. “As demand for our medical con sumables continues to grow, expanding our production capacity is necessary to ensure scalability, operational efficiency, and supply reliability. “The new facility will enhance our ability to support future volume growth and product expansion while reinforcing our position as a vertically integrated healthcare solutions provider. “We view this expansion as an important enabler for the next phase of our expansion and value creation,” he said in a statement.

support manufacturing segment, as part of its expansionary roadmap to serve its growing customer base and enhance the manufacturing capabilities of its product portfolio. This lease is a direct response to sustained demand for the group’s medical consumables and reflects its commitment to scaling its manufacturing platform to better support future volume expansion, product diversification, and overall opera tional resilience. The new facility is expected to substantially enhance UMC’s production capabilities and will primarily be allocated to producing its new products, providing additional headroom for its existing manufacturing facility to the group’s

The lease is a direct response to sustained demand for the group’s medical consumables.

Orkim voyage charter contracts with Shell extended PETALING JAYA: Orkim Bhd’s wholly owned subsidiaries Orkim Leader Sdn Bhd and Orkim Power Sdn Bhd have entered into side letters to extend their respective consecutive voyage charter (CVC) contracts with Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn Bhd and Shell Timur Sdn Bhd. The contracts further grant the charterers an option to extend for an additional year.

operational reliability and reinforce our strong customer relationships with key energy players. Together, these contracts enhance earnings visibility, strengthen our order book, and support our strategy of maintaining high fleet utilisation,” he said in a statement. Separately, effective Feb 1, another group subsidiary, Orkim Marine Sdn Bhd (OMSB), the owner of Orkim Glory , secured a one-year extension of its CVC contract from the charterers.

Subject to the exercise of this option, the charter for Orkim Power may be extended until Jan 31, 2028, while the charter for Orkim Leader may run until Feb 28, 2028. Orkim CEO Captain Cheah Sin Bi said the company is pleased to extend its long standing partnership with Shell for both Orkim Leader and Orkim Power. “These extensions reflect our proven

The parties have agreed to a one-year extension of the existing contracts, with the extended charter period for Orkim Power commencing on Feb 1 and for Orkim Leader on March 1.