MMC Port Holdings has hired CIMB and Maybank to work on an initial public offering (IPO) in Malaysia that could raise more than RM6 billion (S$1.8 billion), two sources with knowledge of the matter said.
RHB and UBS have also been asked to help prepare the IPO, two further sources added.
The IPO, which would be Malaysia’s biggest in more than a decade, was expected to take place either in the second half of this year, or in 2026.
It would likely value MMC Port at more than RM25 billion, the sources said.
More banks are also expected to be brought in, the first source said. All four sources declined to be named as the matter was private.
MMC did not respond to emails from Reuters seeking comment.
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CIMB said that it did not “disclose or comment on specific names or clients”.
Maybank and RHB said that they were unable to comment.
UBS said that it had no comment.
The IPO, if it happens, could be Malaysia’s biggest since private hospital operator IHH Healthcare’s US$2.1 billion listing in 2012.
It adds to a growing pipeline of IPOs in the country, which was the biggest IPO market in South-east Asia last year.
The total value of Malaysian IPOs more than doubled to US$1.64 billion in 2024 from US$724.3 million in the same period a year earlier, according to LSEG data.
MMC Ports is Malaysia’s largest port operator and is a wholly owned unit of MMC Corp, a utilities and infrastructure group controlled by Malaysian tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, according to its website.
It operates five ports across the Malaysian peninsular, a statement dated Dec 3 last year showed.
All are located along the Strait of Malacca, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
MMC Ports’ businesses also include a solid product jetty terminal in Johor, ship-to-ship transfer services in Port of Yan in Kedah, and cruise terminals in Penang, Port Klang and Langkawi, the statement said. REUTERS
