KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 14): JAG Bhd (KL:JAG) said it is acquiring a freehold industrial land in Shah Alam for RM36.89 million cash to expand its total waste management business.

The group, through its wholly-owned subsidiary JAG Renewable Energy Sdn Bhd, is buying the 15,000-square-metre land in the Hicom Industrial Estate from Japan-based Kobe Steel Ltd.

“The proposed acquisition of land forms part of the group’s strategy to expand its total waste management business division and develop additional processing capabilities for emerging industrial waste streams,” JAG said in a bourse filing on Wednesday.

The group said it will finance the acquisition through a combination of internal funds and bank borrowings. As at end-June 2026, JAG has cash and bank balances of RM10.56 million against borrowings of RM65.14 million.

JAG said the deal is not subject to the approval of shareholders and is expected to be completed by Jan 16, 2027.

The group said it intends to develop the necessary facilities and technical capabilities to serve the waste management and resource recovery requirements of data centres, solar energy industries and electric vehicle (EV) industries.

It said it has identified end of life data centre equipment, solar photovoltaic panels and EV battery as strategic target waste streams.

In a separate filing, JAG said it is acquiring RM2.15 million (A$752,400) worth of shares in an Australian-listed company, Metal Bank Ltd, via a private placement, allowing the group exposure to the upstream segment of the precious metals value chain.

It said its wholly-owned unit JAG Capital Equity Sdn Bhd has entered into binding agreements with Metal Bank to subscribe 60 million new shares, representing 6.17% of the Australian company’s enlarged share capital, at an issue price of A$0.01254 per share.

The issue price represents a premium of about 12% to the five‑day volume‑weighted average price of Metal Bank shares as at Oct 9, 2026 of A$0.0112.

The group said the investment complements its existing recycling and recovery operations through its flagship subsidiary, Jaring Metal Industries Sdn Bhd, while providing exposure to the upstream segment of the precious metals value chain.

“By gaining exposure to gold exploration and potential future mining production, JAG aims to explore longer-term synergies with its established expertise in downstream gold extraction and recovery operations,” it said.

Metal Bank, established in 2007, holds a portfolio of advanced gold, copper and cobalt exploration projects in Australia.

Its substantial shareholders include Kinvest Limited with a 10.65% stake, Say Kiat Ong with 6.45% and Equator Capital Management Lts with 6.46%, based on Metal Bank's issued shares prior to the private placement.

JAG shares closed one sen or 2.7% higher at 38 sen on Wednesday, valuing the group at RM292.4 million. At 38 sen, the counter has risen about 27% from its low of 30 sen in April 2025.