By Nigel Edgar
KUCHING, April 22: Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd performed very well and ranked third in the country in terms of cargo handling volume last year.
Its director Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa told reporters at the end of the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) here today that Bintulu Port registered the biggest cargo throughput among East Malaysian ports.
“It started as, basically, an LNG (liquefied natural gas) port. Now we can see the non-LNG sector,” said Ali.
Last year, he pointed out, non-LNG cargo made up 51 per cent of the total cargo throughput, compared to 2017, where LNG contributed 54 per cent of the cargo throughout.
“In this regard, Samalaju Port continued to show positive contribution with an outstanding 58 per cent increase of cargo since it started full operation in 2018 compared to 2017, which was almost half of that,” he added.
Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd Group chief executive officer Dato Mohammad Medan echoed that the company had been on track in diversifying its cargo mix.
“The primary constitution for us is not to over-rely on one cargo as in the past, which was LNG. We have diversified our cargo mix and our sources of revenue, and we are on track to achieve that,” he said.
On its Samalaju Industrial Port, he remarked, “The business model is very robust. In Bintulu, we have dedicated customers using our port. Similar in Samalaju as well.
“So, I think it’s a good prospect to the port, for investors and the company. We are working very hard to make sure we deliver our excellence, improve productivity, and at the same time to look for opportunities for growth in terms of business of the group,” said Medan.
Meanwhile, the company passed six resolutions at its AGM, where Medan said the approval rate was more than 99 per cent.
The six resolutions were:
1. To approve the payment of directors’ fee amounting to RM2,096,900 to the non-executive directors of Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd Group of Companies starting from April 23, 2019, until the next AGM in 2020.
2. To approve the payment of directors’ benefits payable amounting to RM765,000 to the non-executive directors of Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd Group of Companies starting from April 23, 2019, until the next AGM in 2020.
3. To re-elect the following directors who retired pursuant to Article 127 of the Company’s Articles of Association and, being eligible, have offered themselves for re-election:
(3) Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa,
(4) Dato Sri Fong Joo Chung, and
(5) Datuk Nozirah Bahari.
6. To re-appoint Messrs Ernst & Young as Auditor of the Company and to authorise the
directors to fix their remuneration. — DayakDaily
