This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on July 20, 2026 - July 26, 2026
WHILE the listing of his port business has been shelved, Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary is now in the midst of floating his Johor-based property joint venture, WM Senibong Bhd, on Bursa Malaysia.
The initial public offering (IPO) is timely, considering that Johor has been a property hot spot in recent years, with properties snapped up at launches. According to sources, however, the listing exercise has encountered some hurdles.
An issue that has come under the authorities’ scrutiny is the tycoon’s shareholding in Eco World Development Group Bhd (KL:ECOWLD). It raises questions over conflict of interest, given that both WM Senibong and Eco World are property companies with a presence in Johor.
Furthermore, it is learnt that Syed Mokhtar is required to grant WM Senibong a right of first refusal over his land bank surrounding its developments in Johor should he decide to sell any plots in the future. The requirement forms part of the conditions imposed by the authorities for the IPO.
WM Senibong is a joint venture between Syed Mokhtar and Australia’s urban transformation specialist Walker Group Holdings Pty Ltd plus the company’s senior executives.
Syed Mokhtar is the second largest shareholder of WM Senibong, holding 37.82% equity interest through Sigma Senibina Sdn Bhd. Australia’s Walker group controls a 43.69% stake via Walker Asia Development Sdn Bhd (29.69%) and Senibong Marina Development Sdn Bhd (14%). The other shareholders are Essential Format Sdn Bhd owning 13% and Food Hive Sdn Bhd 5.48%, according to the company’s latest filing with the Companies Commission of Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Syed Mokhtar emerged as a 30.1% shareholder in Eco World after a share transfer about two months ago. Eco World’s bourse filing shows that its substantial shareholder, Datuk Leong Kok Wah, transferred all his shares in Syabas Tropikal Sdn Bhd to Syed Mokhtar. Syabas Tropikal is the holding company of Sinarmas Harta Sdn Bhd, the firm that owns a substantial stake in Eco World.
WM Senibong drew attention more than two years ago in June 2024 when its 51%-owned unit, Senibong Island Sdn Bhd, bought a 959.72-acre tract in Tebrau, Johor Bahru, from S P Setia Bhd (KL:SPSETIA) for RM564 million cash.
S P Setia had initially proposed to sell the land to Scientex Bhd (KL:SCIENTX), which had wanted it for affordable home developments. In fact, both companies had tried twice to seal a deal on the same tract in Tebrau but the transaction did not proceed because of bumiputera requirement issues.
S P Setia first tried to sell the land to Scientex for RM518.1 million in 2021. The deal fell through in March 2023 because Scientex failed to obtain a waiver of the bumiputera equity condition imposed by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU).
Four months later, they revisited the deal with a higher price of RM547.65 million. Scientex formed a 70:30 joint venture with bumiputera entrepreneur Datuk Azman Mahmud to acquire the land but the EPU rejected the land transaction again in January 2024.
Roughly six months after that, S P Setia announced the sale of the tract to WM Senibong.
WM Senibong is a familiar name in the southern state, although it might not be well known elsewhere. The developer made its name with the Senibong Cove project — a luxurious waterfront development with a marina in Johor Bahru.
Financially, WM Senibong has done well, with both revenue and profit on a growth path. Revenue expanded to RM464 million in the financial year ended June 30, 2025 (FY2025), from RM395.2 million in FY2024 and RM383.65 million in FY2023.
In FY2025, net profit climbed 27% from RM98.5 million in FY2024 to RM125 million after recording RM85.13 million in FY2023.
However, the company also increased its leverage. Its non-current liabilities swelled to RM536.6 million, lifting its gearing ratio to 85% in FY2025, compared with RM6.09 million in FY2024 with a gearing ratio of 35%. Meanwhile, its working capital more than doubled to RM728.05 million from RM330.85 million in the two financial years.
The company has declared no dividends in the past five financial years.
It is understood that the MMC port IPO has been shelved mainly because of the valuation gap between the prospective investors and the promoter.
Will WM Senibong’s listing come to fruition? Only time will tell whether Syed Mokhtar, a seasoned corporate player, manages to find a way to clear the hurdles this time round.
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Cover Story 2: What’s going on at MMC Port?
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