The people at PLUS Malaysia Berhad, the North-South Expressway (and other highways), must feel very ‘wanted’ these days as their company is the subject of a potential takeover. Various parties have made proposals to the government but the latest from Khazanah Berhad, the majority shareholder of PLUS, is that they are not planning to sell it. “We are not in the mood of selling the asset and we actually haven’t got any kind of bidding process going on,” its MD, Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, revealed.

Nevertheless, to support a proposal from one group led by Tan Sri Halim Saad (who was actually involved in the original company that built the North-South Highway), some information on the debt and operational efficiency of PLUS has been made public. However, it seems that this information is not only inaccurate but also misleading, according to PLUS, which has issued a detailed clarification.

There are three points which PLUS considers inaccurate and misleading:

• “Since the takeover, the debts have risen almost 10 times the tender price of RM3.4 billion in 1988. Only RM700 million [of debt] has been paid. Where did the money (cash from annual revenue) go?” 

• “When he (Tan Sri Halim Saad) left the highway operation 9 years ago, PLUS’ borrowings stood at RM6 billion, 5 times less than its current debt. 

• “Private companies can run PLUS more efficiently”

Here’s what Datuk Azman Ismail, Managing Director of PLUS, has to say in response:

“When Syarikat Danasaham Sdn Bhd (subsequently transferred all assets to Khazanah Nasional Berhad) took over UEM Group Berhad (UEMG) from Renong Berhad and privatized UEMG in 2001, PLUS was a wholly-owned subsidiary of UEMG and was already a debt-ridden company with a total borrowing of RM16.5 billion on its balance sheet as at 31 December 2001. This amount is almost 3 times higher than the figure quoted in Tan Sri Halim Saad’s statement.

Subsequently, UEMG under the new shareholder, Danasaham, successfully listed PLUS shares on Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (now Bursa Malaysia) through an IPO exercise in 2002 at the value of RM12.75 billion, then only pared down PLUS’ debt substantially to RM7.2 billion.

PLUS was listed on Bursa Malaysia for 9 years and during this period, PLUS grew its business through various acquisitions of brown field (existing) highways together with their borrowings, which included ELITE and LINKEDUA.

PLUS was subsequently taken private in November 2011 under the joint offer from UEMG and Employee Provident Fund Board (EPF), based on the approved valuation of RM23 billion, to address the conflicting pressures between the foreign/institutional investors and various stakeholders arising from toll rate increase issue. In order to fund this privatization cost of RM23 billion as well as the refinancing of PLUS borrowings totaling RM11.5 billion, PLUS had to gear up by issuing an enlarged Islamic Sukuk of RM30.6 billion in January 2012.

The Board of PLUS realized the growing competition that PLUS is facing against the other emerging highways, the public transport system and disruptions in digital technology. Hence, the Board took the decision to recruit the best talents and adopted a new business plan which includes optimizing non toll revenue and operation cost efficiency within the organization. The company continues to drive investment in the latest technologies towards the development of smart highways for the benefit of all customers.

PLUS is considered not only the largest and most experienced toll concessionaire in Southeast Asia but also among the top 10 toll highway companies in the world, and always benchmarks itself against the yardstick of operational and cost excellence. According to a recent benchmarking report, PLUS excelled in Operations as well Mechanical & Electrical maintenance and performed better than its domestic peers.

The dynamic tolling system which is being developed by PLUS will reduce bottlenecks during peak hours. Through this latest technology, real-time information on road and weather conditions ahead will be made available to all highway users. The overall safety of highway users and PLUS personnel is also further enhanced with the deployment of mechanized roadwork vehicles.PLUS manages over 1,100 kms of highways, along with 8,303 slopes, 2 tunnels (ie the Meru and Menora Tunnels), 741 bridges (including major bridges like the 1st Penang Bridge, JB Causeway, Linkedua) and 6,187 drainage/culverts. All these need constant maintenance and PLUS undertakes more than 10,000 inspections annually. Furthermore, these assets are all built over a wide variety of conditions from peat/swampy land to undulating terrain.

Apart from that, we continue to rejuvenate and enhance our 29 Rest and Services Areas as well as 50 lay-bys, 4 overhead bridge restaurants, 114 interchanges, 104 toll plazas and 1,212 toll lanes, of which the cost of maintenance works and upgrading projects are fully borne by PLUS.

PLUS R&R areas in selected locations are being refurbished into contemporary and family-friendly places to meet the demands of today’s highway travellers. Our business partners (ie the stall operators) benefit directly from all these improvements as it enlarges their customer footprint.

Our aim is to provide a safe and enjoyable experience in keeping with an increasingly affluent Malaysian society and putting PLUS in the forefront of Malaysia’s modern infrastructure serving new townships and industrial areas along the highway corridors. We are committed to fulfil our social obligations under the Shared Prosperity Vision as we strongly believe that being a good responsible corporate citizen is good for business.

It is also worth noting that PLUS has not increased its toll rates for 14 years since 2005 and the current toll rate per kilometre of the N-S Expressway and ELITE are one of the lowest in the country.

The profits received by PLUS are distributed to its shareholders – EPF and Khazanah Nasional Berhad (via its wholly-owned subsidiary, UEM Group) – to benefit some 14 million EPF contributors, ie the Rakyat and the Government.

The new management is powering change by using technology and digitization to disrupt the barriers that once stood in the way of doing things better in PLUS. These initiatives will enhance the safety of motorists and employee productivity, which invariably will reduce cost.

We remain committed in our relentless efforts to provide our customers a safe, comfortable and enjoyable highway experience.”