This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on October 20, 2025 - October 26, 2025
CITAGLOBAL Bhd (KL:CITAGLB) will need to spend RM100 million over the next 1½ years to fund the equity portion of the slew of renewable energy (RE) projects it is undertaking with its partners from the UAE and Singapore.
This means the group will be undertaking major capital raising exercises in the near future as it builds up the funds needed for these projects. Total capital expenditure (capex) amounts to RM3 billion, of which RM1 billion will be Citaglobal’s share.
“Overall, over the next three to four years, we are probably looking at capex of close to RM1 billion … which means if you look at our balance sheet and the capex, it doesn’t make sense, right? RM350 million [market capitalisation] against RM1 billion.
“So, definitely, we will have to come up with some strategies to raise our market capitalisation to a level that is more palatable, so to speak. Of course, we will have to look at some structured financing mechanism for the equity portion,” Citaglobal executive director and group chief operating officer Aimi Aizal Nasharuddin tells The Edge in an interview.
Citaglobal is looking at either raising sukuk to fund the equity portion of the projects, or enlisting strategic partners, says its executive chairman and largest shareholder Tan Sri Norza Zakaria during the interview.
To recap, Citaglobal is in a consortium with Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC (Masdar) and Tiza Global Sdn Bhd to develop a 200mw floating solar photovoltaic plant at the Chereh Dam in Kuantan, Pahang, under the Large-Scale Solar 5+ programme.
The group has also signed a joint development agreement with Keppel Decarb (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, a local subsidiary of Singapore’s Keppel Ltd, to develop bio-compressed natural gas (bio-CNG) projects across Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu.
The collaboration with Keppel is aimed at converting biomethane, palm oil mill effluent and agricultural waste into bio-CNG, a clean energy source. Part of the output will be supplied to Citaglobal’s Bioenergy & Green Eco Park, a green industrial park in Gebeng, Pahang.
According to Aimi, the bio-CNG project has the potential to produce six million MBtu or equivalent to 100mw of energy over a three-year period.
The Chereh Dam floating solar farm, in which Citaglobal has a 20% share, is estimated to cost between RM600 million and RM700 million. Meanwhile, the partnership with Keppel in bio-CNG is expected to cost another RM700 million in investment.
Apart from the two large projects with global partners, Citaglobal is acquiring 70% stakes in two hydropower projects in Perak, for RM15 million. One of the hydropower plants is a brownfield asset which has been operational since July 2019.
Other projects being undertaken by Citaglobal include the development of the Bioenergy & Green Eco Park in Gebeng, as well as the Perlis Maritime Corridor, which has a gross development cost of US$6.5 billion (RM27.8 billion).
All these projects are part of Norza’s efforts to transform Citaglobal — formerly known as WZ Satu Bhd — into a global conglomerate, banking on new growth areas such as new energy, environment and telecommunications.
Norza has a 29.31% stake in Citaglobal, followed by the Sultan of Pahang, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah with a 13.25% stake. Al-Sultan Abdullah was the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The quantum of projects that Citaglobal is involved in, however, has raised concerns over the amount of capital and funding it will need to raise, given that its existing balance sheet would not be able to shoulder the requirements.
As at June 30, 2025, Citaglobal had RM18.5 million in short-term deposits, cash and bank balances, with RM84.25 million of short-term borrowings. Its net debt came in at RM87.9 million, translating into a net gearing of 22.1%.
The next two years could be challenging for the group, as the profit guarantees that Norza provided over the last three years have been realised.
“The last two, three years, we have been relying on that RM60 million profit guarantee. And now that’s why I’m telling my CEO for civil engineering and construction to work harder, because construction is still the [company’s] bread and butter, so to speak,” says Norza.
The engineering and construction arm of Citaglobal has secured a RM168.88 million contract from the Public Works Department (JKR) to upgrade a 7.25km stretch of the Federal Route 3 (FT3) highway along the Kota Bharu-Kuala Terengganu corridor.
With that award, Citaglobal’s order book has expanded to RM1.3 billion and extended the group’s earnings visibility over the next three years.
In the last three financial years, Citaglobal has seen its fortunes rise, reversing from a net loss of RM41.7 million in the year ended Dec 31, 2022 (FY2022) to a net profit of RM14.9 million in FY2024.
“Sooner or later, when these new businesses materialise, you will see other businesses coming in and contributing to the Ebitda [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation] component of the profit,” says Norza.
Closing at 82 sen last Thursday, Citaglobal’s shares have declined nearly 8% year to date, valuing the group at RM349 million.
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