Protasco to invest in RI oil & gas sector

Kuala Lumpur-listed investment holding company Protasco Bhd is investing some US$55 million into its first ?milestone? oil and gas (OG) segment venture with Indonesia?s PT Anglo Slavic Indonesia (PT ASI), a subsidiary of PT Anglo Slavic Utama.

Protasco executive chairman and group MD Datuk Chong Ket Pen said the deal, expected to be concluded in October, would carve a ?new milestone? for the infrastructure-cumproperty developer.

?If everything goes well, the O&G sector will be a profit guarantee venture for us. Now we are earning close to RM30 million-RM40 million net profit per annum, which is 15 percent growth. Once our O&G operation kicks off, it would be on top of that,? he was quoted by The Malaysian Reserve as saying in a recent interview.

?Our consultants are still in the process of conducting due diligence exercise.? In the long run, once the O&G component reaches a sufficient size, Chong said Protasco planned to list it.

In December 2012, Protasco said in an exchange filing that it planned to acquire 95 million ordinary shares of Rp 1,000 each, representing 76 percent equity interest in PT ASI.

PT ASI operates as an investment holding company and invests in O&G assets. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Indonesia. (*)