SK ecoplant Co., environment-focused engineer under South Korean conglomerate SK Group readying Kospi listing next year, has acquired a 30 percent stake in Malaysia’s top integrated waste management service provider Cenviro, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad, to bolster its portfolio.

SK ecoplant said Friday it signed a share purchase agreement with Khazanah Nasional Berhad at its Seoul headquarters building on the same day. Details about the investment scale were not disclosed.

Cenviro operates Malaysia’s first integrated waste management center that opened in 1998, with the largest licenses related. It also is the sole owner and operator of designated waste landfill and incinerator in Malaysia, which engages in collection, carry, incineration, bury, recycling and reuse of 100,000 tons of wastes per year.

On the back of strong client base including Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Cenviro last year earned about $120 million in revenue.

On the anticipated growth in population and economy, more resources are expected to be used and more wastes should be produced in Malaysia, suggesting that demand for legal waste treatment would grow further amid stricter state environmental regulations in the country, said SK ecoplant.

The Korean company has been active in expanding eco-friendly business since its change of identity and name to environment focus. It bought Korea’s leading environmental management company Environment Management Corporation for 1 trillion won ($785.6 million) in 2020. It then added six more similar companies last year and another two this year, becoming the country’s No. 1 in water treatment and industrial waste incineration, No. 2 in medical waste treatment, and No. 3 in landfill business.

In February, SK ecoplant took over Singapore’s e-waste company TES to enter the IT devices and EV battery recycling business.

The latest stake purchase is part of its global investment after the acquisition of TES to accelerate its Bolt-on strategy for the Southeast Asian market and forays into the North American and European market, it added.

By Lee Ha-yeon

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