SD Guthrie, EcoWorld firm up Negri project
PETALING JAYA: Eco World Development Group Bhd (EcoWorld), SD Guthrie Bhd (previously Sime Darby Plantation Bhd ), and NS Corp Sdn Bhd (NS Corp) have formalised a shareholders agreement yesterday to launch the development of Eco Business Park 7 (EBP 7) in Negri Sembilan.
This follows a memorandum of understanding signed on Dec 18, 2024, and a sales and purchase agreement finalised on April 18, this year.
The agreement establishes Eco Business Park 7 Sdn Bhd as the entity overseeing the project, with EcoWorld holding a 55% stake, SD Guthrie Land Ventures Sdn Bhd (a fully owned subsidiary of SD Guthrie) owning 30%, and NS Corp holding the remaining 15%. Eco World Project Management Sdn Bhd, another EcoWorld subsidiary, will manage the development.
The development of EBP 7 involves acquiring 1,195 acres of freehold land in Mukim Jimah, Port Dickson, within Parcel C of Malaysia Vision Valley 2.0.
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KUALA LUMPUR: SD Guthrie Bhd is set to further accelerate its industrial park development strategy, following a series of joint ventures, memoranda of understanding (MOUs), and land sale agreements covering over 2,387 hectares at key locations across Malaysia over the past year. Analysts said these initiatives reflect the group's strategy to unlock value from its extensive land bank while supporting national objectives to attract investment, generate employment, and promote sustainable industrial growth. "SD Guthrie holds vast tracts of plantation land across the country. By converting selected parcels into industrial developments, it is able to monetise idle assets, enhance income potential, and improve capital efficiency," said an analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity. He noted that joint venture-led projects, in particular, provide recurring income streams and represent a significant step towards diversifying the company's earnings beyond its core plantation operations. 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"The development will co-exist with the island's integrated palm oil operations and complement activities at Westport and Northport in Port Klang. While the JV's shareholding structure has not been disclosed, the companies confirmed that PNB will nominate the chairman of the newly formed SPV. SD Guthrie currently owns 79 per cent of Carey Island, or approximately 11,592 ha," CIMB noted. In May 2025, SD Guthrie formalised another key JV with Eco World Development Group Bhd and Negeri Sembilan Corporation (NS Corp) to jointly develop 483.6 ha in Mukim Jimah. SD Guthrie will retain a 30 per cent stake in the RM2.95 billion GDV project, with the land transacted at RM11 per sq ft. Beyond the Klang Valley and central region, SD Guthrie is also expanding in the southern and northern states. In November 2024, it partnered with AME Elite Consortium Bhd to develop a 259 ha green industrial park in Kulai, Johor, featuring a dedicated solar park. 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With a low land cost base, a 30 per cent retained stake in joint ventures, and a 24 per cent corporate tax rate on disposal gains, SD Guthrie could realise profits of up to RM1.3 billion, well above its RM500 million annual land sales target. CIMB reiterated its 'Hold' rating on SD Guthrie, maintaining a sum-of-parts-based target price of RM5.06 per share. Kenanga Research projects the gross development value (GDV) of SD Guthrie Bhd's Port Dickson property venture to be between RM1 billion and RM3 billion, with the development potentially stretching over five years or more. Despite this, the research house is keeping its earnings forecasts for FY2025 and FY2026 unchanged, noting that SD Guthrie had earlier guided for RM500 million in land disposal gains this year, a figure already incorporated into its estimates. "Year-to-date, SD Guthrie has accumulated about RM300 million in land disposal gain from concluded projects. Hence, there is still about RM200 million in headroom from the guided RM500 million disposal gain for this year. For FY 2026, we are raising our earlier gain of RM50 million to RM200 million. However, we are leaving the FY 2025 to FY 2026 forecast core net profit intact," it said. Kenanga has maintained its "Market Perform" rating on SD Guthrie, with a target price of RM4.60. The research house highlighted several risks to its outlook, including continued Western scrutiny of palm oil over sustainability and biodiversity issues, weather disruptions, labour shortages, soft commodity prices, and rising operating costs. Kenanga also views the group's strategic expansion into industrial property development as a long-term positive, with the potential to boost return on equity (ROE). However, it cautioned that these benefits may take time to be realised due to execution challenges. "SD Guthrie is defensive and assets rich but earnings growth is modest and extra dividends from disposals may be expected," it said.
