KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 21): NCB Holdings Bhd, which operates Northport (Malaysia) Bhd and Kontena Nasional Bhd, has appointed former Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) president and chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Shamsul Azhar Abbas as its non-independent and non-executive chairman.

Shamsul, 63, replaces Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid, 77, following the exit of AmanahRaya Trustees Bhd and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) as NCB's shareholders.

MMC Corp Bhd completed the acquisition of a 53.42% stake in NCB from PNB and AmanahRaya Trustees for RM1.11 billion or RM4.40 per share yesterday. This brings MMC's total stake to 96.88%.

Currently, Shamsul is the chairman of MMC Corp Bhd.

Ahmad Sarji became director and chairman of NCB on Sept 8, 2000. The former chief secretary to the government is currently the chairman of PNB.

NCB also saw the resignation of Abi Sofian Abdul Hamid, 53, as its group managing director, citing "other commitments". NCB did not reveal who will replace him.

Abi Sofian was appointed to his present post on Sept 1, 2014. Prior to his appointment, he was the CEO of Northport (Malaysia) in April 2012.

NCB shares closed six sen or 1.4% lower at RM4.22 today, bringing a market capitalisation of RM1.98 billion.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company's profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)