This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on May 6, 2016.

KUALA LUMPUR: Gabungan AQRS Bhd’s wholly-owned unit has proposed to acquire a 49% stake in the turnkey contractor for a PR1MA housing project in Kuantan, Pahang, with the construction contract valued at RM424.23 million.

This project is the first since the construction-cum-property development group announced a reshuffling of its management team and board of directors last week, which saw executive director Datuk Azizan Jaafar taking over as chief executive officer.

Azizan is a shareholder and director of a subsidiary of Tanah Makmur Bhd, a property developer and plantation company.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Gabungan AQRS said its subsidiary Gabungan Strategik Sdn Bhd had signed a joint-venture (JV) agreement with Monolight IBS Building System Sdn Bhd to construct, develop and complete the development of PR1MA homes with all the necessary amenities, utilities, facilities and infrastructure.

The project will be built on a 182,000-sq m tract in Kuala Kuantan. Monolight will hold a 51% stake in the JV.

The price of Gabungan AQRS shares and warrants jumped yesterday to their highest in nine months, and landed on the top active ranking, ahead of the announcement.

The shares jumped 11.11% to their day’s high of RM1, a level not seen since Aug 6, 2015’s intraday high of RM1.02. A total of 3.7 million shares were traded.

Gabungan AQRS’ warrant, GBGAQRS-WA, meanwhile leaped by a larger quantum and ran ahead of its mother stock’s value when imputing its exercise price of RM1.30. It added 7.5 sen or 39.47% to close at 26.5 sen, with its intraday high at 27.5 sen. The derivative’s trading volume stood at 24 million.

When contacted, Azizan told The Edge Financial Daily that the share price run could be due to investors anticipating that Gabungan AQRS’ management changes would bode well for the company going forward.

“As some people would know, I am also involved with Tanah Makmur Bhd, and they are aware [of] my track record. We (Gabungan AQRS’ management) are working hard on bringing more projects and businesses for the group,” he said.

Azizan said pending the local authorities’ approval, the earthworks for the PR1MA housing project could begin in about seven weeks, with the entire construction project having a 36-month period for completion.

For its JV with Monolight, Gabungan AQRS said the project is expected to contribute positively towards its earnings and earnings per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2016 and beyond.