03/09/2026

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | SEPT 3, 2026

14

Golden Destinations plans RM45m Menara Liberty purchase

o Travel group to use proceeds from initial public offering in April to establish centralised Kuala Lumpur headquarters

for renovation and refurbishment. The eventual cost has yet to be determined, and the company said any excess over that allocation would be funded through internally generated funds and bank borrowings, if needed. According to the filing, Golden Destinations will seek shareholders’ approval for the acquisition exercise at an extraordinary general meeting scheduled on Sept 17, 2026. Golden Destinations expects to complete the deal by the end of the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to all conditions being met. The acquisition is not expected to have an immediate material effect on earnings for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2026. None of the company’s directors, major shareholders or persons connected to them has an interest in the transaction.

The group added that it intends to honour all existing leases for its 28 rented office units until expiry, and therefore does not expect early termination costs or penalties. The group negotiated the RM45 million acquisition price on a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis. Independent valuer Laurelcap Sdn Bhd assessed the properties at a combined market value of RM48.13 million as at May 20, comprising RM45.73 million for the Menara Liberty parcels and RM2.40 million for the annex. Golden Destinations earmarked RM50 million from its public listing to purchase and renovate a new headquarters. It listed on Bursa Malaysia’s ACE Market on April 16, making this its first corporate exercise since listing. The company has allocated a separate RM5 million from the IPO

The headquarters is expected to provide the group with significantly more room for its existing operations and future expansion, especially in tour operations, reservations, ticketing, sales, and marketing. Menara Liberty is also intended to house multi-purpose halls, meeting rooms, and corporate lounges for internal training, briefings, and meetings with travel agents, suppliers, tour leaders, tourism-board representatives, and other industry partners. The annex, meanwhile, is earmarked for food and beverage outlets and a visitors’ holding room, aiming to improve facilities for employees and guests. Golden Destinations expects the move to reduce annual rental costs by about RM630,000, while also reducing its longer-term reliance on third-party landlords.

KUALA Golden Destinations Group Bhd is acquiring office and commercial space in Menara Liberty along Jalan Sultan Ismail for RM45 million, using proceeds from its April initial public offering (IPO) to establish a centralised Kuala Lumpur headquarters. In a circular to shareholders filed to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, the ACE Market-listed travel group said its wholly owned subsidiary, ICE Holidays Sdn Bhd, signed two conditional sale and purchase agreements with Liberty General Insurance Bhd on June 11. The first covers two commercial LUMPUR:

parcels and nine office parcels in Menara Liberty for RM42.751 million, while the second involves the adjoining two-storey Menara Liberty Annex for RM2.249 million. The filing said both transactions are inter-conditional, meaning neither can be completed independently of the other. Golden Destinations plans to use the properties as its new headquarters, bringing together operations now spread across 13 owned and 25 rented office units in Wisma New Asia, as well as three rented units in Menara Hap Seng.

AIREI expands AI palm oil mill model in Perak TELUK INTAN: AIREI Sdn Bhd has launched its second AI-based smart palm oil mill, extending the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in an industry where small gains in extraction and efficiency can have a large impact on returns.

(From left) MDEC digital adoption vice-president Ir. Wan Murdani Wan Mohamad, Kuranadan, Yow, Anuar Fariz and MPOB engineering & processing research division director Nasrin Abu Bakar at the launch of AIREI’s second

The new deployment at Perak Motor Co (PMC Oil Mill) in Teluk Intan has a processing capacity of 60 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches an hour, up from the 45-tonne capacity of AIREI’s first AI-enabled mill. The project also marks a new partnership with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), giving the initiative wider national significance. Less than two years after AIREI introduced what it described as the world’s first AI-based smart palm oil mill, the company is now seeking to show that the technology can work at a larger scale and within existing mill operations. For operators, the appeal is practical as the AI system monitors performance, detects production anomalies and helps keep processes within agreed operating parameters. It is designed to reduce the inconsistency that can arise when decisions depend heavily on individual operator experience. PMC Oil Mill said the system has improved the oil extraction rate (OER) by between 0.1% and 0.2%. It also reported a 13% reduction in mesocarp oil losses on a wet basis at the press station. Perak Motor palm oil mill division managing director Steven Yow Thin Chin said the results had shown that AI could contribute directly to the numbers that matter most to millers. “At the end of the day, a mill is measured by its oil extraction rate, and this system has made a real, measurable difference on that front. “It has eliminated human error and removed much of the guesswork that used to shape how we plan our operations,” he said.

AI-based smart palm oil mill at Perak Motor Co.

Kuranadan said the company’s first project was intended to test whether AI could function reliably under real mill conditions. “When we first deployed this system, the goal was to prove that AI could work on a palm oil mill floor. “We are now proving that it can scale. The system identifies anomalies, analyses their root causes and helps keep production within milling parameters, driving oil losses down,” he said. MDEC CEO Anuar Fariz Fadzil said the project demonstrated the potential for locally developed technology to improve a strategic Malaysian industry. “Palm oil is a strategic national

AIREI said the technology has also helped the mill reduce its dependency on foreign operators. Within the first month of implementation, reliance on foreign workers fell by 20%, with a reduction of up to 40% projected as operations become more established. The system gives managers a centralised view of mill performance, helping them identify recurring operational issues faster. Rather than requiring a mill to be rebuilt, AIREI said its technology can be integrated with existing equipment and workflows, a factor likely to matter to operators considering the cost and disruption of digital upgrades. AIREI founder and CEO Surendran

capacity and deployment scope. Representatives from MDEC, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, industry partners, and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman attended the launch. Discussions included possible research collaboration and internship opportunities for students to gain exposure to artificial intelligence-driven mill operations. For Malaysia’s palm oil industry, the Teluk Intan project may be an early indication of how artificial intelligence can move from experimental use into normal operations – not as a replacement for mill expertise, but as a tool to help operators make faster, more consistent and more profitable decisions.

commodity, and greater adoption of digital technology and AI can improve operational efficiency, optimise resources and deliver better production outcomes,” he said. He said the deployment supported Malaysia Digital 2030, which aims to encourage home-grown innovation, create higher-value jobs and strengthen Malaysia’s ambition to become an AI-focused nation by 2030. AIREI said interest in its model has emerged from palm oil markets beyond Malaysia, including Indonesia, Thailand, Mexico and Colombia. The company estimates that mills can recover their investment within 18 to 20 months, depending on mill