KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 28): Suria Capital Holdings Bhd said it will go ahead to acquire 11.7ha of land located within the Kota Kinabalu (KK) port in Sabah from the Sabah state government.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, Suria said it has received an offer letter from Sabah’s Lands and Surveys Department dated Dec 22 to alienate the KK land located within Tanjung Lipat to Suria.

"After deliberating on the offer letter, the board is of the view that the terms of the offer letter are acceptable to the company. The company will now proceed to comply with the terms of the offer letter and will make the necessary announcement in due course," it added.

The Sabah government is seeking a land premium amounting to RM48.48 million from Suria, with a lease period from Jan 1, 2018 to Dec 31, 2116.

"The terms of the offer letter include an annual rent of RM1,000 from Jan 1, 2018, increasing to RM520,300 from Jan 1, 2026 and RM692,500 from Jan 1, 2029," said Suria.

On Sept 23, 2016, Suria had embarked on the proposed acquisition for the purposes of developing an international cruise terminal and related realty in KK, which is in line with the initiative to develop the KK port as a dedicated international cruise terminal in an entry point project earmarked under the Economic Transformation Programme.

Suria had announced then that it intends to fund the proposed acquisition via a proposed fundraising exercise.

Suria shares closed down 3 sen or 1.6% at RM1.84 today, with 10,400 shares done, bringing a market capitalisation of RM530.26 million.