Express Rail Link Sdn, which runs trains from Kuala Lumpur to the Malaysian capital's airport, has revived plans for an initial public offering after posting its first full-year profit last year, its executive chairman said.
"It was profitable last year and we hope it can be profitable this year," Mohammed Nadzmi Mohammed Salleh said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur, declining to provide earnings figures. "Flotation is of course in our mind. That's how we want to bring this company forward."
Express Rail in April scrapped plans for an IPO last year as the outbreak of SARS and the US-led war against Iraq led tourists and businesspeople to avoid the region.
Travel has since rebounded, with Malaysia predicting a record number of tourists will visit the country this year.
That should lift passenger revenue at Express Rail, which is 40 percent owned by Malaysia's Muslim pilgrim fund, and half-owned by YTL Corp, the country's biggest builder. The company plans to sell shares to help pay loans used for the construction of the 2.4 billion ringgit (US$632 million) line, which started operating in June 2002.
"With the decline of the ringgit I expect an influx of tourists to enjoy one of the more value-for-money destinations in the region," said Azrul Azwar, an economist with MIDF Sisma in Kuala Lumpur.
Express Rail spent last year reducing costs after the outbreak of SARS cut Express Rail's daily passenger numbers by about a fifth to 4,000. The company renegotiated contracts on maintenance, the provision of spare parts and insurance, helping reduce costs by about 5 percent, Nadzmi said.
The company also cut the size of its workforce by 15 percent to 110 people.
It now wants to increase the number of people using the service between Kuala Lumpur and the airport to a daily average of about 6,000. Currently, about 5,000 people make the 56km journey every day.
Express Rail this week signed an agreement with Malaysian Airline System Bhd for the national carrier to sell tickets to international visitors and increase the number of people using the train to get from the airport to Kuala Lumpur.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source