KUALA LUMPUR: More interesting details of Berjaya Corp Bhd’s (BCorp) three-year strategic plan have been unveiled after the ambitious plan fell short of investor expectations last month.

       Chief executive officer Abdul Jalil Abdul Rasheed disclosed that the group is mulling to privatise its subsidiary Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand), selling Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd (BToto) and exiting its hotel businesses from several markets.

       Under the group’s transformation plan, he also proposed to have a hospitality real estate investment trust, which would own only five-star hotels, in the near future, adding that the group would be exiting from its hospitality markets in China by year-end.

       Abdul Jalil confirmed that the group would also be divesting its hotel businesses from markets such as Vietnam, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, as they are no longer competitive in these markets.

       Berjaya Toto Btoto

       “We want to focus on keeping hotels in developed countries such as Japan that have the right regulatory structure, legal infrastructure and rule of law.

       “In the long run, we want to own only five-star hotels, but these would not be operated by us. The best strategy is to partner with the best operators,” he said at a virtual event organised by MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd yesterday.

       Abdul Jalil said the group has not set a timeline for the privatisation of BLand but he hoped to do it “soon than later” and relist it later.

       “It is an element of funding. It will cost money to take the stock off the market. Whether that money is best spent taking the stock off the market or spending it elsewhere, that’s the difficult decision I have to make,” he added.

       Besides that, Abdul Jalil pointed out that the group plans to sell BToto because it is a highly regulated business.

       “My preference is to be in a business that is not too regulated. However, I am not in a rush of selling it because it gives good dividends,” he said.

       BCorp was in the red from financial year ended June 30, 2018 (FY18) to FY20.

       For the nine-month period ended March 31, 2021, BCorp posted a net loss of RM196.22mil compared to a net profit of RM223.87mil in the corresponding period a year ago due to the adverse impact of Covid-19.

       During the pandemic, Abdul Jalil said customers of its 7-eleven stores have become more price conscious by purchasing only the “must-have” items compared to the “nice-to-have” items previously.

       He said there has also been an overall decline in sales at its Starbucks outlets, as online purchases are lesser compared to purchases in traditional physical stores. Currently, the group has 322 Starbucks outlets.

       Overall, Abdul Jalil said the group’s transformation plan also included performance monitoring of its subsidiaries.

       “The communication in the past was on an ad-hoc basis, whereby the group was mostly reactive than proactive. Now the communication is on a regular basis,” he added.

       BCorp’s shares hit a high of 34.5 sen on June 16 after the transformation plan was announced. Given the selling pressure, the stock closed at 27.5 sen yesterday.