Perwaja Steel
Perwaja Steel Sdn Bhd is Malaysia's largest steel producer. It was established in 1982. It has two major plants in Kemaman, Terengganu, and Gurun, Kedah.
Perwaja is capable of producing 1,500,000 metric tonnes of steel annually, comprising billets, beam blanks and blooms. From these, rolling operations produce sections, H- and I- beams, bars, wire rods, channels, angles and nails.
References
Perwaja was first established in the early 1980s in a joint venture between the Malaysian government and Nippon Steel Corp of Japan, with a capital of some RM1.2bil. A few years later, it had to be restructured and the asset was taken over by the Government, after which more capital was injected into the company.
In the mid 1990s, Abu Sahid acquired Perwaja from the Government. However it took many years for the deal to be inked and only in 2003 did Maju Holdings actually assume control. Abu Sahid had subsequently sought the assistance of the Pheng family who controlled Kinsteel, to lend their expertise to run Perwaja.
The Pheng family took over the running of Perwaja and now Kinsteel is also in trouble financially. Perwaja is one entity where the crown weighs heavy on its owners. Under such circumstances, getting a buyer will not be easy unless the valuations are undemanding.