MTD Walkers await better market conditions to broad-base share ownership
MTD Walkers is keen to broad-base its share ownership, but is bidding time for market conditions to improve, officials said.
“We have always wanted to broad-base our shareholding, but this isn’t the most opportune time, owing to the current market conditions,” Jehan Amaratunga, Deputy Chairmen MTD Walkers told the Business Times. He said they would ‘ideally’ sell parts of their shareholding (majority shares are held by MTD Capital Bhd a Malaysian investment holding company with core business in civil engineering and construction, infrastructure development, property development and the manufacturing of construction related materials, etc) to infrastructure development funds, institutional investors and strategic investors.
He said the plans to bring all eight firms in the company under a common image is also underway and will be done within this year and the company is keen to consolidate its investments and introduce an ‘easily identifiable’ name. He added that the company is now consolidating all its investments and a clear brand will supplement this exercise. “We will complete this within this financial year in a bid to better position the company,” he added. He said that the company concluded the 100% per cent acquisition of Colombo Engineering Enterprises in the last quarter.
“We also bought 80 per cent in WAD Lanka which is doing white steel / stainless steel fabrication from its British owner,” Mr. Amaratunga said. The company retrains this owner with a 20 per cent shareholding and is also is the principle buyer. Mr. Amaratunga said the company is looking to expand in the energy sector and as an initial step has expanded its 30 Mega Watt Jaffna power plant. “We’re studying the next set of projects which will be in hydro and wind power. We’re also interested in solar power on a fairly small scale,” Mr. Amaratunga added.
The company is actively involved in overseas projects in Thailand, the Philippines, China, Australia, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam.
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