Venture into the dredging industry accelerates Group towards target of 20% profitability from non-O&G activities<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR, 27 AUGUST 2026<\/b> \u2013 Keyfield International Berhad (\u201cKeyfield\u201d or
\n\u201cthe Group\u201d) announced the acquisition of Inai Kenanga (\u201cInai Kenanga\u201d or
\nthe \u201cDredger\u201d), a mega trailing suction hopper dredger (\u201cTSHD\u201d), for a cash
\nconsideration of USD24.7 million, equivalent to approximately RM99.7 million. Inai
\nKenanga was acquired from Inai Rimba Sdn. Bhd. (Receivers and Managers
\nAppointed), whom Malayan Banking Berhad had appointed as receivers and managers
\nin March 2024. <\/p>\n
Completed in 2016, Inai Kenanga was at the time the largest
\ndredger in Asia and the third-largest in the world. Built at a reported cost of
\nRM1.2 billion and with a hopper capacity of 32,205m\u00b3, it is designed for
\nlarge-scale dredging, land reclamation, marine engineering, major
\ninfrastructure and coastal development projects. Under its previous ownership,
\nInai Kenanga was deployed for various dredging works in Malaysia, including
\nduring the tenure of a 15-year concession to undertake dredging and reclamation
\nworks at federal ports. The estimated fair market value of the Dredger, as
\nassessed by an independent market valuer, is USD63.7 million while the estimated
\ncost of constructing a similarly-specified dredger is upwards of USD150.0
\nmillion.<\/p>\n
Along with the acquisition,
\nKeyfield also announced the signing of a Shareholders\u2019 Agreement with Star
\nNaval 1 Pte Ltd (\u201cSNPL\u201d), a company co-owned by Starhigh Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
\n(\u201cStarhigh\u201d) and Naval Elite Limited. The Shareholder\u2019s Agreement lays the
\ngroundwork for the special purpose vehicle (\u201cSPV\u201d), which will eventually be 60:40
\nowned between Keyfield and SNPL. The SPV shall own and operate Inai Kenanga,
\nallowing Keyfield and Starhigh to leverage their combined strengths to
\nsuccessfully secure and execute dredging projects in the future. Keyfield
\nwill fund USD23.8 million for Inai Kenanga\u2019s purchase, with SNPL funding USD0.9
\nmillion plus Inai Kenanga\u2019s estimated reactivation cost of USD15.0 million. <\/p>\n
Starhigh, founded in 2006,
\nis a Singapore-based regional player in the dredging and sand supply industry, with
\nprojects across Singapore, Cambodia and Peninsular Malaysia, while also
\nactively exploring expansion opportunities in East Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan.
\nNotable projects include extension of Singapore\u2019s Jurong Island, as well as the
\ndevelopment and maintenance of the navigation channel at Tok Bali Supply Base
\nin Kelantan.<\/p>\n
Dato\u2019 Darren Kee Chit Huei, Group CEO and Executive
\nDirector, Keyfield Group<\/b>, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are thrilled to announce the addition of our largest
\nvessel to our fleet with the acquisition of Inai Kenanga, one of the region’s
\nlargest trailing suction hopper dredgers. <\/p>\n
This acquisition marks our foray into the dredging industry
\nand accelerates our expansion beyond the oil-and-gas sector. It is our second
\nacquisition of a non-O&G vessel, following last year\u2019s acquisition of
\nKeyfield Blessing, our cable-laying barge that is currently on-hire in the
\nMiddle East.<\/p>\n
Notably, our acquisition of Inai Kenanga marks the
\ncontinuation of our strategy of acquiring assets below market value, positioning
\nourselves to ride future growth opportunities. Our entry into the offshore
\nsupport vessel (\u201cOSV\u201d) chartering industry in 2016 enabled us to assemble a
\nyoung OSV fleet with top-of-the-range specifications at reasonable capital
\noutlays. Today, we see parallels of this strategy and the acquisition of Inai
\nKenanga. With the former owner of Inai Kenanga having entered receivership, we
\nwere presented with a unique opportunity to acquire this asset at below market
\nvalue. Leveraging the strength of our balance sheet, this acquisition will be
\nfunded through our internal cash — hence not requiring any borrowings. <\/p>\n
Following the reactivation of Inai Kenanga, which is
\nexpected to be completed in 2027, we, together with Starhigh, intend to participate
\nin dredging projects in Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia and Singapore.
\nStarhigh brings relevant industry network and expertise that complements our
\nmarine asset ownership and operational capabilities.<\/p>\n
Dredging and related marine works are increasingly
\nimportant in strengthening coastal resilience and supporting the development of
\nmarine infrastructure. Activities such as beach nourishment, land reclamation,
\nand the deepening and maintenance of waterways and channels facilitate the
\nconstruction and expansion of ports and coastal developments, while also
\nenhancing coastal protection and improving water flow and drainage during
\nperiods of flooding and storm surges.<\/p>\n
Against this backdrop, demand for dredging and sand supply services
\nis expected to grow, with projects such as Singapore\u2019s Tuas Mega Port representing
\nonly the tip of the iceberg in terms of the region\u2019s broader demand.
\nFurthermore, the Transport Ministry\u2019s intent to develop new policies to
\nencourage the growth of Malaysia\u2019s dredging and reclamation industry is
\nexpected to unlock opportunities for the Group.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, our venture into the dredging industry will
\naccelerate our evolution from a pure-play O&G OSV provider into a
\nmulti-spectrum marine solutions provider, providing additional income source,
\napart from OSV chartering and cable-laying chartering. <\/p>\n
In the long term, we aim to increase the contribution of
\nnon-oil and gas activities to up to 20% of the Group\u2019s total profitability. We
\nare also continuing our geographical diversification strategy, through the
\nsecuring of projects in the Middle East and Thailand and potentially other
\ncountries in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
This press release has also been published on VRITIMES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Venture into the dredging industry accelerates Group towards target of 20% profitability from non-O&G activities…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/H6_s_Eb_ylTWnSEV3HlmYQ\/prd\/4898e386-bfd7-4cf8-a97d-2fb19ddd69f7\/public","fifu_image_alt":"Keyfield Announces USD24.7 Million Acquisition Of Inai Kenanga, One Of Asia's Mega Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-singapore"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}