KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 2): Airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), which manages 39 airports in the country, said today tenants who have signed up or are going to sign up under its ongoing airport commercial reset programme will get to benefit from a rental reduction of up to 30% from the current rate.
This is equivalent to a total annual savings of RM45 million for the participating tenants. This rental reduction is applicable to non-airline tenants at all MAHB airports in the country.
"We hope that with this new and more attractive package offered to our existing and potential partners, we can together realise the full potential of our commercial reset initiative," MAHB group chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh said in a statement.
"We are not going to allow the pandemic to disrupt our plans in elevating airport experience and service level, and we have to be ready for the time when airports will return to their normal pace.
"This new rental model will also help facilitate business recovery for our existing tenants and provide them with some breathing space while we undergo a gradual recovery in terms of traffic numbers," he added.
At the same time, MAHB has come up with a relief package amounting to RM22 million to help airport retailers weather the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With this relief package, about 650 retail tenants will enjoy a 50% rental reduction for six months in 2020.
"These 650 tenants represent 80% of our retailers and are mainly made up of either small and medium enterprises or small- to mid-scale operators who will be able to gain some respite in terms of cash flow so that they can continue operating," said its newly appointed chairman Datuk Seri Diraja Dr Zambry Abd Kadir.
"Although MAHB itself is undergoing aggressive cost containment measures to mitigate the impact on our own business, we feel that it is important to stretch the ringgit further in order to extend a helping hand to our partners so that we can all recover together and take advantage of any potential for future growths," he added.
MAHB shares closed down six sen or 1.14% at RM5.22 today, bringing a market capitalisation of RM8.66 billion. A total of 878,700 shares were traded.