BCorp CEO quits, group looks inward to fill roles

The outgoing CEO, who is pursuing a personal venture, will also be relinquishing other roles related to the company

by S BIRRUNTHA / Pic by MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

BERJAYA Corp Bhd (BCorp) has confirmed the resignation of its CEO Abdul Jalil Abdul Rasheed, a year after he was appointed to the role.

Abdul Jalil will also relinquish positions on the various boards of companies related to BCorp effective March 31, the diversified group stated in its exchange filings yesterday.

Abdul Jalil, 40, on his Twitter account stated that he asked to relinquish his post and plans to pursue a personal venture which has a social impact angle as well as a possible return to the investment space again.

“It’s a big risk (scary too) and a huge decision to step down but I have to give this a try now. It may work or it may not. If it does not, then at least I gave it a go. Life perspectives have also changed with wanting to spend more time with growing children” he wrote on his Twitter account yesterday.

Berjaya Group Bhd looked to those in its ranks and swiftly appointed Vivienne Cheng Chi Fan and Syed Ali Shahul Hameed as joint group CEOs of BCorp effective April 1. Syed Ali has also been appointed as BCorp ED.

Cheng joined the group back in 1989 while Syed Ali joined in 1997.

Cheng has been BCorp ED since 2005 with vast corporate experience in the area of finance especially project financing, capital funding, debt restructuring, IPOs, risk management and group treasury cash management.

Syed Ali was Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand) CEO, a listed subsidiary of BCorp, a position he will now relinquish.

In his 25 years with the group, he has been responsible for the development of several major local and international projects including the Inter-Continental and Sheraton Hotels in Hanoi as well as the Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton projects in Kyoto and Kuala Lumpur, respectively, the group noted in a statement accompanying the Bursa Malaysia’s filling.

BLand in turn has announced the appointment of Datuk Abdul Rahim Mohd Zin as CEO effective April 1.

Abdul Rahim is a chartered accountant and a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, with 35 years of experience in various fields, particularly in banking, finance, oil and gas, shipping, and food and beverage (F&B).

He is also currently Landasan Lumayan Berjaya Sdn Bhd CEO and Berjaya Group ED, a subsidiary of BCorp.

BLand also announced changes to its board of directors effective April 1 with Syed Ali being redesignated as deputy chairman while Tan Tee Ming being appointed as ED.

Consequently, Nerine Tan Sheik Ping will be stepping down from her position as Bland ED.

Talk of Abdul Jalil stepping down emerged last week after he divested 15 million shares to Berjaya Group founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan in a direct deal on March 16. He still has a 3.32% stake or 171.57 million shares, all of which were acquired when he assumed the lead role at BCorp last year.

Abdul Jalil, who is the first non-family member to run the Berjaya business empire, was appointed to helm the group on March 16 last year.

Prior to that, Abdul Jalil was the president and group CEO of state-owned fund management company Permodalan Nasional Bhd, from which he resigned as well.

When Abdul Jalil took over BCorp, he rolled out a three-year strategic plan to reorganise the Berjaya Group into five key business areas, comprising retail, F&B, property, hospitality, services that include gaming, environment, digital and financial technology.

He also announced plans to dispose of about RM5 billion worth of non-core assets of BCorp over the next five years, and wanted to halve its debts of RM5 billion in three years.

Subsequently, the group began disposing of some of its non-core assets, including stakes in associate companies Razer Fintech Holdings Ltd, Berjaya China Motor Sdn Bhd and the education business Berjaya Higher Education Sdn Bhd.

In its latest financial quarter, BCorp turned profitable in the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2021, with a net profit of RM101.01 million against a net loss of RM49.71 million a year ago.

Revenue grew 5.93% to RM2.06 billion from RM1.94 billion a year ago.

The better profitability was mainly underpinned by the gain on disposal of its stakes, as well as improved contributions from the group’s retail and hospitality segments amid easing of Covid-19 restrictions.

For its cumulative six months ended Dec 31, 2021, the group posted a net profit of RM41.7 million. reversing from a net loss of RM108.66 million, however revenue fell 11.4% to RM3.44 billion from RM3.88 billion

Going forward, BCorp is cautiously optimistic about a gradual improvement of its business performance for the remaining quarters of the financial year.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the group is expecting continued positive results and growth for BCorp in the second half of financial year 2022.

Shares of BCorp closed one sen or 4.17% lower at 23 sen yesterday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM1.25 billion.