‘KHAZANAH GETS US$500M OFFER FOR LINTAS MARGA STAKE’

Astra Infra teams up with Canada Pension Plan to bid for share, says source

KHAZANAH Nasional Bhd, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, received an offer of about US$500 million (RM2.08 billion) for its stake in an Indonesian tollroad operator, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Indonesia’s Astra Infra teamed up with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in bidding for PT Lintas Marga Sedaya, the concession holder of a 117km toll road connecting Jakarta to Cirebon in the western part of the Java island, said the person.

Khazanah’s board is meeting on Friday to discuss the offer and the sovereign wealth fund may or may not accept it, said the person.

Khazanah controls 55 per cent of Lintas Marga through its unit UEM Group Bhd, while Astra Infra owns the remaining 45 per cent of the toll-road operator.

The Indonesian company had first right of refusal on UEM’s holding in Lintas Marga, said the people. Astra Infra is whollyowned by car company PT Astra International.

The bidders are seeking to benefit from increasing traffic that has prompted Indonesia to pledge more than US$400 billion in infrastructure spending.

In 2006, UEM Group was awarded the highway project called Cikopo-Palimanan, also known as the Cipali toll road, but construction didn’t start until 2013 as the company needed to complete land acquisition and get the required regulatory approvals.

The project was finished in 2015 and is the Malaysian group’s first highway concession in Indonesia.