PLS Plantations Bhd shares soared to the highest level this morning after the company announced the appointment of former CIMB Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazir Abdul Razak as Non-Independent Non-Executive Chairman effective 10 February.
Shares of the company jumped as high as 33 sen or 30% at RM1.43 per share.
At 10am, PLS shares rose 20.91% or 23 sen to RM1.33, making its market capitalization worth RM531.36 million.
The company was one of the counters that recorded the highest profit during the Bursa Malaysia trading session this morning.
A total of 1.28 million shares were traded and four times the average 200-day trading value of 341,782 shares.
In a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, PLS said the change in the board members was a follow-up to the resignation of Hisham Mahmood as a Senior Independent Non-Executive Director and the resignation of Datuk Lim Kang Poh as a Non-Independent Non-Executive Director last month.
"After the appointment of Mohamed Nazir, the current chairman, Tan Sri Datuk Lim Kang Hoo, will be re-appointed as the Executive Vice Chairman of PLS. He is also the Executive Chairman of Ekovest Group, ”said PLS as reported by Bernama.
Meanwhile, another former Senior Officer of CIMB Bank, Tan Hong Kheng will also join PLS as an Independent Non-Executive Director on the same date.
Mohamed Nazir said he hoped to provide guidance and views as PLS moved forward to expand its durian plantations and downstream businesses and diversify its business into other agricultural fields.
“To strengthen my position with the future of PLS, apart from taking part in the recent placement of shares by this company, I also obtained the option to purchase existing warrants at PLS which when implemented, allows me to increase my shareholding in PLS from 4.75% currently to 9.9% based on its current share capital, "he said
On January 22, PLS announced the sale of shares through private placements up to 10% of the total issued company shares.
Mohamed Nazir subscribed for 19 million PLS shares at RM0.95 per share of the implementation of the private placement, while 10.0 million PLS shares were subscribed by Tiong Nam Logistics Holdings Bhd at RM1.01 per PLS shares.
