Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad Increases Stake In K&N Kenanga Holdings Berhad

Move reflects confidence in growth potential of Malaysia’s largest independent Investment Bank

[KUALA LUMPUR], 21 September 2012 – Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad (CMS), one of Sarawak’s largest listed entities, has recently increased its shareholdings in K&N Kenanga Holdings Berhad (Kenanga) to 29.64% from its earlier shareholdings of 25.56%.

The purchase of shares in Kenanga will mitigate the impending dilution resulting from the acquisition of ECM Libra Investment Bank Berhad (ECM Libra IB) by Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad (Kenanga IB), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kenanga.

Based on the announcement made by Kenanga on 15 June 2012, the acquisition of ECM Libra IB by Kenanga IB would be partly satisfied via the issuance of 120 million new shares in Kenanga, which will dilute the shareholdings of existing shareholders of Kenanga. CMS’s current stake in Kenanga will be diluted from 29.64% to 24.78% upon completion of acquisition.

Speaking about the stake increase, Dato’ Richard Curtis, Group Managing Director, CMS said, “As a sign of confidence in its strategic investment in Kenanga, CMS has recently increased its existing stake in Kenanga, through purchase of Kenanga shares via open market and direct business transactions.”

Kenanga IB is set to become the largest independent investment bank and retail broker in Malaysia after the acquisition of ECM Libra IB. Moving forward, CMS is confident that Kenanga would be able to move into its next phase of growth after merging its investment banking and broking business with ECM Libra IB. Kenanga represents a strategic investment by CMS to ride on the growth of the financial services sector and would serve as a platform for CMS to expand its businesses outside the state of Sarawak.