KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 21): Sunway Construction Group Bhd (SunCon) said it has secured a RM720.99 million shopping mall project in the Kinta district in Perak, in a related party transaction.

The group said its wholly-owned unit, Sunway Construction Sdn Bhd, received the contract from Sunway Bhd’s indirect subsidiary, Sunway Lost World Water Park Sdn Bhd on Wednesday, for earthworks and main building works of a commercial development containing a six-floor shopping complex, cinema and shops.

The project will begin on March 1 and is expected to be completed by Jan 31, 2027, the group said in a bourse filing.

This latest award raises SunCon's total secured new projects for the current year to RM831 million.

The group said the project will contribute positively to SunCon’s earnings for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2024 (FY2024) onwards. For FY2023, the group’s net profit increased 7.34% to RM145.1 million from RM135.18 million a year earlier, as revenue grew 23.94% to RM2.67 billion from RM2.16 billion.

SunCon noted that its director and major shareholder Evan Cheah Yean Shin is also the director of several subsidiaries and a major shareholder of Sunway.

He has a direct stake of 0.001% and an indirect stake of 66.04% in SunCon. In Sunway, he holds a 0.09% direct stake and a 64.72% indirect stake. He is the son of Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah, the founder of Sunway.

Shares of SunCon climbed to an intraday high of RM2.79 on Wednesday. It pared its gains to close at RM2.61, valuing the group at RM3.37 billion.