KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 9) — The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has strengthened its position in IJM Corporation Bhd, increasing its shareholding to 20.4% and reinforcing its status as the company’s largest shareholder.
According to a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the retirement fund purchased about 4.07 million IJM shares in three separate transactions on Feb 3, bringing its total holdings to approximately 714.9 million shares. While the purchase price was not disclosed, estimates based on the day’s closing price of RM2.73 per share suggest the acquisitions were worth around RM11 million.
The latest purchases form part of a broader accumulation strategy. Since Sunway Bhd announced a voluntary general offer for IJM on Jan 12, EPF has acquired close to 60 million shares, increasing its stake by roughly 1.7 percentage points from about 18.7% previously.
Separately, developments involving IJM’s leadership have drawn attention. The company’s chairman, Tan Sri Krishnan Tan, was released after being detained briefly to assist investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). Authorities indicated the release was partly due to health considerations, and the inquiry remains ongoing.
The MACC is working with the UK Serious Fraud Office on an investigation related to alleged money laundering activities involving individuals linked to the company. IJM has denied the allegations and stated that the claims are unfounded. Earlier this year, investigators from both the MACC and the Inland Revenue Board visited IJM’s offices to obtain documentation.
Despite these developments, IJM continues its operations, and institutional investors such as EPF maintaining or increasing their stakes often signal long-term confidence in a company’s underlying assets and project pipeline. For market watchers, large construction and infrastructure firms play a critical role in shaping the pace of development across Malaysia, including projects tied to commercial property in KL, office space in Bukit Jalil, and logistics-driven demand for industrial land in Selangor, factories in Puchong, and industrial property in the Subang area.
As the situation evolves, investors are likely to monitor both the progress of the investigation and IJM’s project execution, as these factors can influence sentiment in the broader construction, infrastructure and property sectors.
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