KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 5): Tan Sri Lim Kang Hoo-controlled Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Bhd (IWH) is again ruminating to take its shares public after shelving the plan indefinitely, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing sources familiar with the matter.

While the timeline for the initial public offering (IPO) has yet to be finalised, the sources said IWH is toying with the idea of a dual listing in Malaysia and Hong Kong. The Edge Financial Daily, in a Jan 18 report on potential IPOs this year, quoted banking sources that said the property developer was possibly looking for a listing this year.

The WSJ report said IWH’s IPO is looking to raise US$300 million (RM1.24 billion), the same figure bandied about for years in the media. If successful, the funds from the IPO would be used to partly finance development of a waterfront area that faces Singapore and includes apartments, malls and a marina, the report added.

Lim’s secretary said IWH declined to comment on the IPO plans, according to WSJ.

Based in Johor, IWH is a 40:60 public-private partnership between state government unit Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor Sdn Bhd and Lim’s Credence Resources Sdn Bhd. Khazanah Nasional Bhd, said IWH, is also the group’s strategic partner by way of an indirect minority stake in IWH’s subsidiary Iskandar Waterfront Sdn Bhd.

IWH had initially targeted for a listing by the end of 2013 or the following year, during the height of the boom period in Iskandar Malaysia’s developments.

However, the plan was put on hold because of slowdown in the Malaysia’s property market and the implementation of the government’s cooling measures to contain property prices that were spiralling up, with the real property gains tax and doubling of foreign buyers’ minimum purchase prices, said WSJ.

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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on Feb 5, 2016. Subscribe to The Edge Financial Daily here.

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