Berjaya Corp.’s new group CEO, Abdul Jalil bin Abdul Rasheed, has put his money where his mouth is and bought a minority stake in the company amid his pledge to revamp and restructure the business group. Reporting on the news, Bloomberg noted that shares rallied to a near three-year high.
In a statement, Rasheed said he had acquired 70 million shares at 28 sen a share, a stake worth 19.6 million ringgit (around $4.8 million). Bloomberg highlighted that this matches the number of shares that founder and executive chairman Vincent Tan announced he had sold, according to a separate statement released on the same day.
Tan recently chose Rasheed to lead the business in a bid to “future-proof” the family empire following losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, representing the first time he has hired an external professional to run the group. Rasheed was previously CEO of Malaysian money manager Permodalan Nasional Bhd. and has also worked with Aberdeen Standard Investments and Invesco Ltd.
“Being a shareholder and CEO will allow me to execute changes with the right incentive in place,” Rasheed said. “It is also a vote of confidence in the company, and addresses the seriousness of this institutionalisation phase we are undertaking.”
Following Rasheed’s appointment, Berjaya formed a partnership with London-based merchant bank New World Capital Advisors Ltd. to offer advisory services including mergers and acquisitions and strategy in Malaysia and surrounding countries.
