Khazanah acquires 3 pct stake in Dubai’s GEMS Menasa

KUALA LUMPUR: Khazanah Nasional Bhd has acquired a three per cent stake in Dubai’s education group GEMS Menasa Holdings Ltd.

In a statement to Nasdaq Dubai yesterday, GEMS Menasa’s unit, GEMS Menasa Cayman Ltd (GEMS) said the stake was acquired from Varkey Group, the majority owner of GEMS.

“The investment adds to Khazanah’s existing indirect interest in GEMS, via its shareholding in Fajr Capital, the Dubai-based private equity investor that led the 2014 acquisition of a minority stake in GEMS by an investor consortium, including Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat and Blackstone,” it said.

GEMS said Khazanah’s investment was structured as a purchase of existing shares in its parent entity, GEMS MENASA Holdings Ltd, from VG.

“Following the sale, VG remains the largest shareholder in the company and committed to holding a majority controlling stake in GEMS.

“GEMS will receive no proceeds from the sale,” it said. — Bernama

Prasarana announces new CEO for Rapid Rail

KUALA LUMPUR: Prasarana Malaysia Bhd yesterday announced the appointment of Muhammad Isom Azis as the Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd, replacing Datuk Zohari Sulaiman who joined MRT Corporation as Project Director for MRT Line 3.

Rapid Rail is a subsidiary of Prasarana.

In a statement, Prasarana said previously, Muhammad Isom was the Chief Operating Officer of MRT Sungai Buloh – Kajang (MRT SBK) Line.

Muhammad Isom said the main focus of Rapid Rail would be to further promote its services as a cool, convenient and safe service for city folks and woo higher ridership especially during off-peak hours.

“We will continue to work closely with our stakeholders especially amongst the private sector to inject more life and to rejuvenate our stations and services,” he added. — Bernama