Integrax ... Apr12

Amin Halim Rasip has upped his stake in Integrax Bhd to 22.52% through off-market transaction, reflecting his effort to have better influence on the direction of the Lumut-based port operating company going forward.

Amin acquired a total of 11.89 million Integrax shares via Rakewood Enterprise Ltd and Shafston Group Ltd. Amin also indirectly owns 17.12% stake in Integrax via Golden Initiative Sdn Bhd and Jurukapal Marine Services Sdn Bhd.

Amin is currently the non-executive chairman of Integrax and also the chief operating officer of Lumut Maritime Terminal Sdn Bhd (LMT). LMT is the joint venture that operates Lumut Maritime Terminal and Lekir Bulk Terminal.

Integrax owns a 50% stake in LMT and 80% in Lekir Bulk Terminal while Perak Corp Bhd has 50% plus one share in LMT.

Lumut Maritime Terminal is a critical maritime gateway for the supply of coal to Tenaga Nasional Bhd's (TNB) Manjung coal-fired power plant, which in turn holds 22.12% stake in Integrax.

There have been some issues highlighted over Brazilian mining giant Vale's RM4.3bil iron ore distribution hub project in Teluk Rubiah, Manjung where certain NGOs and residents had expressed their concern on the project environmental impact as well as some political issues that had cropped up.

It was reported that Integrax was still interested in the prospects of providing terminal service to Vale although the transhipment services agreement between Integrax and Vale had lapsed and the Perak government had since given the latter the green light to construct its own jetty to serve the iron ore project.

In February 2012, Amin had expressed his views that Integrax shareholder disagreements should be a thing of the past after the company saw a reshuffling of director appointments. It is learnt that these issues were also mired with personality clashes over the way and direction Integrax should take in the bigger picture.

Amin was quoted as saying Integrax aimed to eventually secure an agreement with Vale to help the Brazilian ore mining company to process some of its products before exporting them out again to its biggest customer China.

Amin also said the Lumut port was envisioned to process and value add other commodities such as palm oil.