KUALA LUMPUR: Little-known Malaysian firm Helios Photovoltaic Sdn Bhd plans to develop a RM5.5 billion project in Kelantan and list on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, raising eyebrows over the scale of the proposal relative to its limited public profile.
The company is targeting €33 million proceed from its initial public offering (IPO) and has appointed SMC Investmentbank AG as its listing bank, with the offering targeted for next month.
Details on the company are scarce with no clear track record of large-scale developments or major projects typically associated with investments of this magnitude.
However, at a press conference yesterday, the company outlined three solar projects in Sarawak that were awarded from the state government.
Helios also claimed to have a floating solar project in Sembawang, Singapore and is in talks with Cambodia's authorities for solar industrial parks there.
Domestically, the company is in discussions with related parties to include a solar and green industrial park at Kota Kinabalu International Industrial Park in Sabah.
Top Helios executives said it plans to build a solar park as well as a wildlife safari conservation and resort project on about 1,214 hectares in northern Kelantan.
The solar park will feature a 1,000-megawatt-peak solar photovoltaic plant paired with a 1,600-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system.
Helios chairman Datuk Seri Ibrahim Muhammad said the project is being developed under the government's Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme.
It is designed as a scalable platform that integrates renewable energy generation with opportunities for investment participation, he added.
"Through our proprietary zero net energy lots concept, corporate and investors can participate starting from as low as one megawatt without the need to build or operate the infrastructure themselves," he told a press conference here today.
Ibrahim added that Helios is actively seeking partnerships with international conservation and ecotourism organisations to further strengthen the initiative.
This includes developing ecotourism resorts aimed at promoting sustainable interactions with nature.
Ibrahim added that the effort includes developing ecotourism resorts aimed at fostering sustainable interactions with nature.
It is unclear whether the project has secured firm regulatory approvals, land ownership clarity or committed financing partners, all key prerequisites for developments of such scale.
However, Helios chief operating officer Datuk Dr Zuraidi Ishak claimed that it is holding a series of discussions with various potential international investors, mostly from China and Europe.
"The discussions are still ongoing and no decisions have been made yet, but I expect them to be finalised by the middle of the year," he added.
On the IPO, Ibrahim said the listing proceeds will be used to support the development and expansion of solar projects across Europe and Asia, including Germany, Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia.
When asked why the German market was chosen for the listing, Zuraidi said the decision was driven by Helios' expansion plans.
He added that the company intends to channel the IPO proceeds into projects in Germany, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, while continuing its operations in Singapore, Cambodia and Malaysia.
"Our focus is more overseas, more towards the European Union. In addition to Germany, we are also looking at eastern European countries such as Slovakia and Bulgaria. So I think that's the answer why we are focusing there and not the local bourse," he said.
Helios may consider acquiring local companies and participating in Bursa Malaysia, he added.