Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (March 18): Several sources say Berjaya Corp Bhd’s (BCorp) chief executive officer Abdul Jalil Abdul Rasheed will be stepping down from his post to pursue his personal interests.

Jalil just marked his first anniversary in BCorp on March 16.

It is understood that the former fund manager, who was president and group CEO of state-owned fund management company Permodalan Nasional Bhd, one of the largest fund management companies in Malaysia with over RM300 billion assets under management, is considering a move back into the investment space.

The Edge has reached out to BCorp for comment, and is awaiting its response.

Jalil, meanwhile, tweeted these just a few hours earlier:

"Priorities in life really change once you get Covid and spend time at home. The good thing was spending uninterrupted time with the kids.

"Kids told me they liked having me at home, and I’m calmer and nicer. Sometimes we get too caught up and miss the important things in life. Today I picked them up from school. Something I did frequently in Singapore but not so much here," he wrote.

Jalil is the first "non-family" member to run Tan Sri Vincent Tan's business empire.

When the former fund manager took over, Jalil revealed a three-year strategic plan to reorganise the Berjaya group into five key business areas, comprising retail, food and beverage, property, hospitality, and services that include gaming, environment, digital and financial technology.

He also announced plans to dispose of about RM5 billion worth of non-core assets of BCorp over the next five years, and wanted to halve its debts of RM5 billion in three years.

Subsequently, the group began disposing of some of its non-core assets, including stakes in associate companies Razer Fintech Holdings Ltd and the education business Berjaya Higher Education Sdn Bhd. The latter owns Berjaya University College.

In its most recent financial quarter, BCorp turned profitable in the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2021 (2QFY22) after six consecutive quarters in the red.

The conglomerate posted a net profit of RM101.01 million, compared with a net loss of RM49.71 million in the prior year.

The group's earnings were boosted by gains from the divestment of a 30% stake in Razer Fintech, which amounted to RM161 million, and higher share of results of associates and joint ventures. Following the stake sale, BCorp still has a 19% stake in Razer Fintech.

The group also saw better contributions from its retail and hospitality segments amid the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.

For its cumulative six months ended Dec 31, 2021, the group recorded a net profit of RM41.7 million, as opposed to a net loss of RM108.66 million in the corresponding period a year prior, on a revenue of RM3.44 billion — down 11.4% from RM3.88 billion previously.

Edited ByTan Choe Choe
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