KUALA LUMPUR (April 22): Norges Bank, which manages Norway's government pension fund, has emerged as a substantial shareholder in engineering precision parts manufacturer CPE Technology Bhd with a 5.45% stake.

According to CPE’s bourse filing, Norges Bank through Citigroup Nominees (Asing) Sdn Bhd bought 3.5 million shares or a 0.52% stake in CPE on April 17. The latest share purchase pushed the retirement fund’s shareholding beyond the 5% threshold necessary to be deemed a substantial shareholder.

The purchase raised its shareholding in the company to 36.6 million shares or a 5.45% direct stake.

The filing with the stock exchange did not reveal the purchase price. However, based on the company’s closing price of RM1.30 on April 17, a back-of-the-envelope calculation indicates that the block of shares was valued at about RM4.55 million.

Norges Bank is currently CPE’s fourth largest shareholder, behind CPE executive director and chief executive officer Lee Chen Yeong with a 32.5% stake, non-independent non-executive director Foo Ming (19.5%) and executive director Mu Woon Chai (13%).

CPE was listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia on Dec 7 last year. It booked a net profit of RM1.49 million in the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2023 (2QFY2024), on the back of RM21.78 million revenue.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the group’s net profit declined 41.84% from RM2.57 million in 1QFY2024 — due to the one-off listing expense of RM1.23 million — as revenue fell 4.04% from RM22.7 million in the immediate preceding quarter.

Shares in CPE closed eight sen or 6.3% lower to RM1.19 on Monday, valuing the group at RM798.86 million. The counter has gained 25.26% year to date.