Malaysian government appoints financial advisor to restructure UEM

JPMorgan has won arguably the most important and sensitive financial advisory mandate to emerge from Malaysia over the past decade. The bank is believed to have spent the past five weeks conducting due diligence on the UEM (United Engineers Berhad) group following the company's de-listing from the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange this October. However, while a bank official confirms the appointment, he declined to provide further information.

Sorting out UEM and its still listed parent Renong Berhad is viewed as a crucial first step in overhauling corporate Malaysia in order to revitalise foreign investor sentiment, stimulate economic growth and improve sovereign credit ratings, which appear to have become stuck at BBB/Baa2. The problems of the two intertwined groups, which account for 5% of Malaysian banking assets and control 13 listed entities with a market capitalization of M$20 billion ($5.3 billion), remain the highest-profile symbol of a deeply ingrained malaise in the corporate sector.