DUBAI (Dec 1): Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd's (MRCB) group managing director Tan Sri Mohamad Salim Fatih Din was picked as Global CEO of the Year at the sixth Middle East Business Leaders Awards (MEBLA) 2015 on Monday.

The award was organised by business magazine The Leaders International and endorsed by non-governmental organisation American Leadership Development Association.

According to a statement, Mohamad Salim was chosen as a recognition of his three decades's "involvement and achievements in the Malaysian property sector — especially since he took over the helm of MRCB in 2013".

MEBLA also said Mohamad Salim had added value to MRCB as a transport-oriented development (TOD) player and a major construction player in the country.

Mohamad Salim, on receiving the award, said he dedicated the honour to MRCB's board and staff, "who have been very committed in our journey to become Malaysia's number one developer for TOD".

The award was conferred by the secretary general of the Federation of Chambers of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Abdulrahim Hasan Naqi.

While MRCB's stock is still hovering in the RM1.50-level since Mohamad Salim took over MRCB's management in September 2013, he has since spearheaded many transformations within the group — particularly at paring down its high debt level, and amassing new land bank and projects.

Mohamad Salim's entry into MRCB happened by the group's absorption of the Gapurna Group of companies. This gave MRCB certain prime property projects — particularly PJ Sentral.

With a 16.7% stake in MRCB through Gapurna Sdn Bhd, Mohamad Salim has trimmed down the group's total borrowings by about RM330 million to RM3.06 billion as at September 2015, through a series of asset disposals. In net gearing terms, it came down from 1.74 times in September 2013 to 1.12 times.

Last month, MRCB announced a trifecta of projects. First it will bring Populous, the designer of the new Wembley Stadium, to help regenerate the Bukit Jalil National Sports Complex into a self-sustaining Kuala Lumpur Sports City. In turn, MRCB will receive 92.5 acres of adjacent land, worth RM1.6 billion.

It also entered into a management contract with Kwasa Utama Sdn Bhd (KUSB) worth RM3.15 billion, under which MRCB was appointed the management contractor for the development and construction of Kwasa Utama, a 29.82-acre (12.1ha) commercial development in the new Kwasa Damansara township in Sg Buloh, Selangor.

Lastly, it proposed a 70:30 joint venture with Cyberview Sdn Bhd to develop 53.4 acres (21.6ha) of land in Cyberjaya, Selangor, into the Cyberjaya City Centre, which has a reported gross development value of close to RM10 billion.

Going forward, Mohamad Salim said: "I will continue to build on MRCB's strength and will commit myself and the able workforce of MRCB to deliver various infrastructure that support the national economic development agenda."

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)