KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 7): Shares in Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) fell as much as 21 sen or 2.78% this morning on news of its group chief executive officer (CEO) Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin's abrupt departure.
At 11.25am, the stock was traded at a low of RM7.35, valuing the airport operator at RM12.2 billion, after 1.46 million shares were transacted.
It was the second largest decliner across the local bourse at the time of writing, after Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, which lost 26 sen to trade at RM17.42.
On Monday, MAHB announced that Raja Azmi — who joined MAHB on Feb 1, 2016 as chief financial officer before he was promoted to CEO on Jan 4, 2019 — had resigned to pursue other opportunities.
The 52-year-old stepped down two years short of his three-year contract and passed the reins to its chief operating officer (COO) Datuk Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh, who will take on the role as acting group CEO.
Mohd Shukrie, 46, has been COO of MAHB since May 1, 2019. Prior to that, he was the COO of Redbox Logistics, AirAsia Group Bhd's logistics arm, from February 2018 to February 2019, and subsequently COO of AirAsia from March 2019 to April 2019.
He was also the former group CEO of KL Airport Services Sdn Bhd, the aircraft ground handling, cargo and logistics arm of DRB-Hicom Group. On July 1, 2011, he joined Pos Malaysia Bhd as group COO and was thereafter re-designated as covering group CEO on Feb 1, 2013. In 2013, he joined Konsortium Logistik Bhd as group CEO.
Mohd Shukrie was appointed as group CEO of Pos Malaysia on Nov 1, 2015.
MAHB's leadership change comes amid uncertainty over the fate of the regulated asset base (RAB) framework for the determination of aviation tariffs and a move to liberalise the local airport sector.
An aviation analyst, who declined to be named, told The Edge Financial Daily Raja Azmi's sudden departure "creates more uncertainties for MAHB such as the finalisation on its operating agreements with the government, the RAB framework, as well as whatever outstanding issues that MAHB has with its customers".