KUALA LUMPUR (April 6): Suria Capital Holdings Bhd, a company controlled by the Sabah state government, has dropped its plan to sell a stake in wholly-owned subsidiary Sabah Ports Sdn Bhd (SPSB) to MMC Corp Bhd.

On Aug 10, 2017, Suria had confirmed The Edge Malaysia weekly report that it was in talks with MMC to sell a stake in SPSB, which holds a 30-year concession to operate eight ports in Sabah, commencing 2004.

"We wish to confirm that Suria is no longer pursuing the proposed acquisition of SPSB by MMC Ports Holding Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MMC, and that SPSB remains as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Suria," Suria said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

However, Suria did not give a reason for its decision.

According to Suria's website, SPSB operates Sapangar Bay Container Port, Sapangar Bay Oil Terminal, Kota Kinabalu Port, Sandakan Port, Tawau Port, Lahad Datu Port, Kunak Port and Kudat Port.

The types of cargo being handled include container, dry bulk, general cargo and liquid cargo, especially palm oil and petroleum.

Sabah investment arm Warisan Harta Sabah Sdn Bhd owns a controlling 45.4% stake in Suria, while Yayasan Sabah Group and Chief Minister, State of Sabah hold 3.67% and 1.66% respectively, bringing the state government's stake to 50.73% in the group.

Suria shares were up one sen or 0.62% to close at RM1.62, with 21,000 shares traded, giving it a market capitalisation of RM466.86 million. MMC shares, meanwhile, closed up one sen or 0.67% to RM1.50, valuing the stock at RM4.48 billion.