BY JAMES WONG
KUCHING: Sarawak Energy’s annual sales revenue grew more than four times, to a new record of almost RM7 billion in 2022.
Its chief executive officer Datuk Sharbini Suhaili said this was the result of its transformation to focus on renewable hydropower which significantly decarbonised its power system.
“We have been able to leverage our investments in renewable hydropower to provide one of the lowest and most competitive tariffs in the region,” he told its annual investors townhall session on June 9.
“This has led to an influx of demand from investors who are seeking clean and renewable energy, something that has become increasingly important in the face of global warming,” he said.
To meet the demand, he said Sarawak Energy is ramping up its generation capacity and has established long-term plans to maintain 60 per cent renewable energy in its generation mix, which is in line with the Sarawak Government’s Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030.
“We have plans to gradually decommission older coal power plants in stages, starting with Kuching’s 210MW Sejingkat Coal-Fired Power Plant in 2026,” he said.
“We will not be building any more coal plants, the 624MW Balingian Coal-Fired Power Plant will be the last coal plant for Sarawak.”
In another development Sarawak Energy said in a statement on Wednesday that it has completed a total issuance of RM3.5 billion under its RM15.0 billion Sukuk Musyarakah Programme.
The issuance comprised RM500 million 5-year tenure, RM1,000 million 7-year tenure and RM2,000 million 10-year tenure Sukuk Musyarakah.
It was completed via a bookbuilding exercise and priced at 4.05 per cent, 4.19 per cent and 4.27 per cent respectively, with a final book-to-cover ratio of 3.05 times.
Additionally, the bookbuilding exercise for the Sukuk Musyarakah garnered one of the highest orderbooks across Malaysia’s debt capital market transactions of approximately RM11 billion.
It received strong support from a diverse range of investors, including local and foreign investors, as well as prominent financial institutions like fund management companies, banks, pension funds, and insurance entities.
