KUALA LUMPUR (Apr 1): James Wong Tet Foh, 54, has been appointed the new group managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of Mudajaya Group Bhd, suceeding Anto SF Joseph, 63, who will be retiring.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, Mudajaya said Anto's decision to retire is part of the group's succession planning. He has been the group MD and CEO of Mudajaya since Dec 22, 2011.

Anto will be taking on the role as a special advisor to the board, said Mudajaya group chairman Datuk Yusli Yusoff.

"Anto postponed his decision to retire a year earlier at the request of the board to facilitate a smooth transition in management. The group's succession plan has been underway with James Wong appointed in 2013 as the chief operating officer (COO). He was subsequently appointed the MD of Mudajaya Corp Bhd in May 2014.

"On  behalf of the board of Mudajaya, I would like to express our deep appreciation for Anto's decision to delay his retirement last year, and I am glad he has agreed to continue to serve as a special advisor to the board," said Yusli.

The group said Wong, a qualified professional engineer who holds an MBA in Finance, will bring a wealth of experience with his proven record in the construction and infrastructure sectors since 1985, as he had served at various major organisations including United Engineers Malaysia Bhd, Lafarge Concrete Malaysia and IJM Corp Bhd.

"My first priority will be to undertake a comprehensive strategic review of our operations whilst ensuring that the group completes our major projects on hand, including the commissioning of the 1440 megawatts (MW) coal fired power plant in  Chhattisgarh, India," said Wong in the same filing.

As at 2.50pm, Mudajaya (fundamental:0.85; valuation:1.8) shares were down 3 sen at RM1.42, which gives it a market capitalisation of RM780.7 million.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company's profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)