Pelaburan MARA emerges as substantial shareholder of AppAsia

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 7): AppAsia Bhd said Pelaburan MARA Bhd has emerged as a substantial shareholder of the company.

This was after the strategic investment and asset management arm of Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) acquired 4.4 million shares in AppAsia off market today, the group said in a bourse filing.

Following the share acquisition, Pelaburan MARA now owns 21.29 million shares representing a 6.06% stake in AppAsia, the filing showed.

In a separate filing in response to a news report, the group said it received a notice of interest of substantial shareholder from Pelaburan MARA today.

According to the report in the New Straits Times, a major realignment in the shareholding structure of AppAsia is poised to take place as early as next week.

It noted that some 4.5 million AppAsia shares were traded off market on Wednesday at 56 sen apiece, while another 13 million shares were acquired by the same fund on July 21 at 38 sen per share.

Shares of the secure audit confirmation service provider reached a record high of 46.5 sen on July 27 after the group launched eConfirm.my, which it said is the nation’s first industry-wide electronic platform used to confirm banking information needed for audit purposes.

The group said its wholly-owned unit Extol Corp Sdn Bhd has partnered with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), giving Extol 12 years of exclusive rights with MIA to manage and operate the online platform.

At market close today, AppAsia’s share price settled 5.5 sen or 9.32% higher at 64.5 sen with 30.02 million units done. This valued the technology firm at RM229.53 million. Year to date, the stock’s value has ballooned by 64.36 sen.

Source: The Edge Market