GDB gets shareholders’ nod for transfer to Main Market

KUALA LUMPUR: Construction services group GDB Holdings Bhd’s (GDB) shareholders yesterday approved the company’s plan to transfer to the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia.

Group managing director Cheah Ham Cheia said the transfer would be a landmark occasion in the group’s growth journey.

“Our plan to graduate to the Main Market just two years after our listing on the ACE Market is a natural progression for GDB and reflects our larger scale of operations currently,” he said after the extraordinary meeting, here, yesterday.

“Over the past 12 months, the group has grown from strength to strength and achieved notable milestones, including winning our highest number of contracts in a single financial year despite the sector doldrums, entering new segments to construct industrial and hospitality buildings, and completing our first acquisition to widen our scope of expertise.”

GDB’s order book as at September 30 last year stood at RM1.26 billion. It aims to replenish existing order book with an additional RM750 million worth of new projects this year, which is 50 per cent higher than last year’s target.

GDB is principally involved in construction services, focusing on high-rise residential, commercial and mixed development projects as main contractor and principal works contractor.

Among the new projects secured by GDB last year were Perla Ara Sentral in Ara Damansara, Park Regent in Desa ParkCity, the 5-star Hyatt Centric Hotel in Kota Kinabalu, Hap Seng Star Mercedes-Benz Autohaus in Setia Alam, Selangor, as well as piling and substructure works for Aviary Residence in Puchong Horizon.

Since being incorporated in 2013, GDB has delivered numerous iconic buildings throughout the Klang Valley, including the Etiqa office tower in Bangsar, two packages of KL Eco City in Mid Valley and Menara Hap Seng 3 in Kuala Lumpur City Centre.

“The transfer to the Main Market will not only elevate our profile in the eyes of potential clientele as one of the nation’s leading builders, but also certainly allow us to tap a broader investing community, especially the institutional funds.

GDB expects the transfer to materialise in the first half of the year. It was listed on the ACE Market on March 27 2018.