IF Porsche AG does make Malaysia its Asean hub, then the luxury sports car maker will be the second German automaker to make Malaysia a hub after the Volkswagen Group set up its new regional parts distribution centre (PDC) in Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Johor recently.
As it is, Porsche is in an advanced talk to set up an assembly plant in Malaysia for its Asean market by identifying Inokom Corp Sdn Bhd as its partner.
“We are positive but not entirely surprised by this development for we have highlighted this possibility in the past,” commented Maybank IB Research analyst Liaw Thong Jung on the latest development.
“We understand that this will be Porsche’s assembly plant for the Asean market with the prospect of CKD (completely knocked down)-ing two models, namely the SUV Cayenne and Macan.”
Inokom is involved in the assembly of passenger cars, multi utility vehicles, sports utility vehicles, multi-purpose vehicles and light commercial vehicles for Hyundai, BMW, Mazda and MINI cars there.
According to media sources, Porsche is said to be setting up an assembly plant in Kulim, Kedah, in what would be its first plant outside Germany.
The German automaker will partner Inokom in the venture by making Malaysia its ASEAN hub. The latter will construct a new plant specifically for Porsche in Kulim. That said, the size (capacity) and value of this investment cannot be ascertained at the moment.
“Sime (Darby Bhd) and BAuto (Bermaz Auto Bhd) are the key beneficiaries through their equity stake in Inokom,” noted Liaw. “We have “buy” (ratings) on these two stocks.”
Inokom is owned by a consortium of shareholders, namely Sime Darby Motors S/B (51%), BAuto (29%), Hyundai Motor Company of South Korea (15%) and Sime Darby Hyundai S/B (5%).
“We conservatively estimate that Inokom generates about RM50 mil annually for every 1,000 CKD units (assembly margin: RM50,000/ unit),” projected Maybank IB Research.
“That equates to an annual pre-tax profit of RM28 mil to Sime and RM14.5 mil to BAuto based on their respective equity stakes, representing roughly 10% and 3% of their respective group profits in FY2022.” – Feb 8, 2021
