KUALA LUMPUR (May 2): KUB Malaysia Bhd said its joint development agreement (JDA) with Mabanaft Pte Ltd to develop, own and operate a refrigerated liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal at Westports in Port Klang, Selangor, has lapsed with no extension agreed.

The company announced in an exchange filing today that the JDA lapsed on April 30 — which was the date the agreement was in effect until — with no extension agreed by both parties.

KUB did not elaborate on the rationale for the lapse of the agreement but said “the parties are in discussions on the next course of action”.

In October 2018, KUB Malaysia announced that it has, together with its subsidiary KUB Gaz Sdn Bhd, signed the JDA with Singapore-based Mabanaft, which is an affiliate of Germany-based energy player Marquard & Bahls Group. This followed the Memorandum of Understanding which was inked in May 2017.

The purpose of the JDA was to document the parties’ mutual understanding as to their individual roles and responsibilities in furthering the project towards a final investment decision, and in establishing jointly-owned project entities.

The facility was earlier described by KUB president and managing director Datuk Abdul Rahim Mohd Zin as a "key project" which will allow the company to further grow its domestic market while expanding regionally.

Shares in KUB today finished one sen or 2.5% lower at 39 sen, for a market capitalisation of RM217.02 million.