KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 2): Oil trading and bunkering service provider Straits Energy Resources Bhd announced on Monday that it plans to spin off its oil bunkering and shipping-related services segment through a Nadsaq listing by way of a registered public offering.

The ACE-Market listed company said that it intends to undertake a reorganisation of some of its subsidiaries involved in the oil bunkering and shipping-related services segment, for the purpose of forming a separate listing group, dubbed as spin-off group, to be listed on Nasdaq, according to its bourse filing.

Meanwhile, the subsidiaries in the spin-off group,will continue to remain as subsidiaries of Straits Energy upon the completion of the proposed listing.

The group said that the proposed listing will enhance the corporate recognition of the spin-off group on Nasdaq, as well as further enhance its corporate reputation and profile by expanding its customer base and its global presence.

The spin-off group will also gain access to the capital market in the US for capital raising and will provide the spin-off group financial flexibility for future expansion and growth.

Moreover, the group anticipates that the proposed listing will unlock shareholders' value in the oil bunkering and shipping-related services and provide a transparent valuation benchmark for the same on Nasdaq.

“The proposed listing, which is still at a preliminary stage at this juncture, is subject to, amongst others, satisfactory due diligence and assessment of suitability for listing by the company's professional advisers, approvals being obtained from the relevant authorities in the US and Malaysia (where required), as well as the shareholders of Straits at a general meeting to be convened," it said.

It noted that the proposed listing is also subject to assessment of other factors such as general economic and capital market conditions.

Straits Energy said that it will make a detailed announcement in due course, once the board has finalised and approved the terms and structure of the proposed listing.

"For shareholders' information, a detailed announcement in relation to the proposed listing will be made upon submission of the ‘public filing’ to the US Securities and Exchange Commission," it said.

Straits Energy shares finished unchanged at 12 sen on Monday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM113.06 million.