“Our debt shot up to RM19bil as of June last year from RM12bil prior to the acquisition. We then decided we needed to pare down our borrowings. “This is an effort to strengthen our balance sheet because who knows if something attractive and profitable comes along our way, we could be going back to the market to borrow,” Bakke (filepic) told reporters after a briefing on its fourth-quarter financial result here yesterday.

KUALA LUMPUR: Sime Darby Bhd, which has been on deleveraging mode over the past one year to pare down its borrowings, will be ready to return to the market to fund any future expansion plans.

This will be after the conglomerate completes its proposed private placement exercise of 5% of its existing share capital that is expected to raise RM2.37bil, assuming the issuance is done at RM7.51 per share. This will improve its gearing ratio to about 30% from the current debt-to-equity ratio of 44%. Sime shed 34 sen to RM7.80 yesterday following the announcement.

As of June, Sime’s total borrowings stood at RM15.83bil with bank balances and cash of RM3.52bil.

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