Business

Thursday July 5, 2012

PwC gauges interest for APH project via advert

By LEONG HUNG YEE
hungyee@thestar.com.my


PETALING JAYA: Pricewaterhouse-Coopers (PwC), the receiver and manager of Asia Petroleum Hub Sdn Bhd (APH), is gauging interest for a petroleum storage terminal project at Tanjung Bin, Johor, via an advertisement.

A source said the advertisement was for “expression of interest” by interested parties for the project developed by APH.

“This is not a tender or a request for proposal notice. We want to gauge the interest first,” he said, adding that PwC had received a few calls asking about the project.

According to the advertisement by PwC, APH is the developer of a petroleum storage/blending/distribution terminal under construction. The project is located on a 100-acre reclaimed island at Tanjung Bin, about 15 minutes from Iskandar, Johor.

It said the project was planned for multiple product tanks of a total capacity of 924,000 cu m with inter-tank connectivity for blending options and space for dedicated multiple users.

The source said the invitation to express interest had no dateline but would be closed when it is believed that it had received sufficient interest. “They (interested parties) will have to write in to us formally to express their interest together with company profile.”

PwC, however, stated that the advertisement was not a solicitation of offer to purchase the project.

To recap, CIMB Bank Bhd pulled out from a debt restructuring for APH, delaying the latter's payment for construction works done by Muhibbah Engineering Bhd.

Muhibbah was awarded an RM820mil contract for marine piling and jetty works of APH's oil storage and bunkering facility on a reclaimed island off Tanjung Bin, Johor. StarBiz has earlier reported that Muhibbah had completed RM630mil worth of works and had yet to receive payment for RM371mil.

In February, CIMB came into the picture for a restructuring exercise. It was rumoured that Muhibbah and CIMB could end up as shareholders in APH through a debt-equity swap.

CIMB owned 75% of the unsecured and secured debt of APH each. However, it was reported that not all the APH creditors agreed to convert their debt to equity, which may stall the restructuring of APH because the scheme would need 75% creditors' support to be carried out.

Muhibbah has already filed a lawsuit against APH and the project's managing contractor ZAQ Sdn Bhd to recover RM381mil owed. The suit is still pending.

  • E-mail this story
  • Print this story
  • Bookmark and Share