Reprimanded Toyo Ventures bags Vietnam contract, stock jumps 8.5%

The company sealed a US$86 million (RM388 million) contract for a power plant in Vietnam.

PETALING JAYA: Toyo Ventures Holdings Bhd (ToyoVen), which recently earned the ire of Bursa Malaysia for withdrawing a proposed dividend, announced some good news that will be welcomed by its investors – a US$86 million (RM388 million) contract for a power plant in Vietnam.

The announcement saw the group’s stock rise 8.46% today from RM1.32 to close at RM1.41.

The contract price of US$86 million annually comprises site works, technical services and advisory services, it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Thursday.

The group’s wholly owned subsidiary Song Hau 2 Power Company Ltd entered into an operations and maintenance agreement with Power Engineering Consulting Joint Stock Company 2 (PECC2) on March 9, it said.

The agreement refers to the Song Hau 2 thermal power plant located at Song Hau Power Generation Center, Hau Giang Province, Vietnam.

The scope of the agreement includes boiler turbine and generator operation, balance of plant systems operation as well as control room operations.

ToyoVen said the contract price would be annually funded from the revenue to be generated from the commercial operation date. The agreement does not involve any allotment or issuance of new shares of the group.

Earlier on March 1, ToyoVen announced it entered into a contract agreement with an unincorporated consortium comprising Sunway Construction Sdn Bhd (SCSB) and PECC2 for the construction of the same plant in Vietnam.

The contract had a hefty price tag of US$2.42 billion (RM10.94 billion) for all the design, engineering, procurement, manufacturing and construction for the power plant.

The amount would be funded via syndicated financing facilities. The Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Bhd (Exim) offered their services as lead arranger and book runner, as well as the coordinating arranger (CA) of the sum.

Withdrawn dividend

Interestingly, on the same day it announced the Vietnam power plant contract, the group also announced in a Bursa filing that Bursa Malaysia Securities had publicly reprimanded it for withdrawing a proposed dividend.

In the filing, Bursa Securities noted that ToyoVen had on Nov 30, 2021 proposed a single-tier dividend for its financial year ended Sept 30, 2021. It subsequently withdrew it on Jan 31, 2022 in contravention of Bursa Malaysia Securities Main Market Listing Requirements.

ToyoVen had explained that despite the net loss of RM12.9 million in the quarterly results ended Sept 30, 2021, it had decided on the dividend as it still had sufficient retained earnings brought forward from previous financial years.

The regulator said it viewed the breach seriously as the requirement to not make any subsequent alteration to the dividend entitlement is a fundamental obligation of listed companies.

“It is also of paramount importance to ensure market certainty and integrity that the interests of shareholders and investors are not compromised,” it added.

Having bagged a lucrative contract in Vietnam, ToyoVen’s minority shareholders are now hoping the company will, moving forward, be able to honour its dividend payment commitments.