KUALA LUMPUR: Norges Bank, the central bank and sovereign wealth fund manager of Norway, has ceased to be a substantial shareholder of Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd, sending the company's share price down to a low of RM1.07 a share.
At the time of writing, Cahya Mata's share price declined 3.57 per cent to RM1.08, with market capitalisation of RM1.16 billion.
In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, the company said the notification of the cessation was received via email.
As of December 6, 2023, Norges Bank held a 4.989 per cent interest in Cahya Mata Sarawak.
On Sep 14, 2023, the Norges Bank, acquired 54.05 million shares or a 5.03 per cent stake in Cahya Mata.
The fund has some US$12.08 trillion in investments over 70 countries and 9228 companies as at Jan 12, 2024.
In its website, Norges Bank said it has invested in 157 listed companies in Malaysia with over US$2.34 billion as of December 31, 2022.
Tradeview chief executive officer Ng Zhu Hann said in the case of Cahya Mata, while the company has a lot of valuable assets and concessionaires, governance issues continue to plague it with a shareholder tussle affecting its substantial shareholder.
"This may affect investor confidence or fall out of line of the investment parameters allowed by the investment committee of the fund company, said Ng.
"Especially in this day and age where environmental, social and governance is very important, Cahya's current predicament may be a cause of concern for funds."Furthermore, the revenue of Cahya has been falling for the past few years. I believe unless and until the resolution of the above-mentioned issues, Cahya may face an uphill task to return to its glory days," he added.
Ng explained that it is common for funds to enter and exit companies.
"Some may do so due to portfolio allocation, others may be because the fundamental analysis of the company's investment thesis has changed, " he told Business Times.
Cahya Mata's net profit plunged 93.5 per cent to RM9.9 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30 from RM154.4 million from the corresponding period a year ago.