Malaysian Billionaire Brothers’ Press Metal To Raise $231 Million To Boost Capacity Amid Supply Disruptions

Press Metal Aluminium Holdings—controlled by billionaire Koon Poh Keong and his brothers—is raising 970.6 million ringgit ($231 million) to further boost the group’s output amid worsening supply disruptions caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Malaysian company said on Tuesday that it is selling 163.4 million new shares at 5.94 ringgit each. Proceeds from the share sale will be used to upgrade the company’s aluminium extrusion and smelting operations, pay off some debts and fund working capital requirements amid surging raw material prices caused by supply chain disruptions arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

The upgrading projects will further enhance Press Metal’s capabilities. Last year, the company completed the construction of the third phase of its smelting facility in the Samalaju Industrial Park in Sarawak, Malaysia, boosting the group’s annual smelting capacity to more than 1 million metric tonnes and positioning it well to capture the growing demand for aluminium.

“Demand for low carbon aluminium in modern applications is expected to rise in industries such as automotive and solar energy,” Press Metal group CEO Koon Poh Keong said in a statement last month as the company announced its 2021 results.

Reflecting the booming demand for aluminium, Press Metal’s net profit more than doubled to an all-time high of 1 billion ringgit in 2021 as revenue increased 47% to 11 billion ringgit from the previous year. The price of aluminium surged almost 40% last year, and will likely remain elevated this year due to prevailing supply constraints in Europe and China that has been further exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, the company said.

Koon Poh Keong and his four brothers started Press Metal in 1986 as an aluminium-extruding company, which has since become Southeast Asia’s largest integrated producer of aluminium, competing against global giants such as Russia’s Rusal and the Aluminum Corp of China. With a net worth of $6.4 billion, the brothers rank No. 3 on the list of Malaysia’s 50 Richest that was published last June.