Glomac Bhd MD/CEO Datuk Seri Fateh Iskandar Mohamed Mansor. — Glomac website

PETALING JAYA: The implementation of the mandatory Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributions for foreign workers and higher minimum wage should be given more time, says Glomac Bhd managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Fateh Iskandar Mohamed Mansor.

Additionally, he said in the short term, difficulties would arise for many employers from various sectors.

“Construction companies, including Glomac, are dealing with workers who prefer daily wages. The work progresses in stages and at one stage you may need bar benders, followed by bricklayers and plasterers.

“This makes the policy challenging for employers particularly in terms of compliance,” he told a press conference in conjunction with the group’s AGM here yesterday.He hoped the government would reconsider the timing and perhaps extend the implementation period to another date.

“If they told us it starts in 2026, then we would be prepared rather than introducing it in the next two to three months,” Fateh Iskandar said.

He suggested that in the long-run, the government should opt to push the industrial building system (IBS) as a way to reduce dependency on foreign workers within the sector.

“But, when asking developers and contractors to adopt IBS, I think incentives must be given – either in the form of money, increased plot ratio or faster approval process.”Asked if Glomac has plans to revisit ventures into the data centre and waste-to-energy (WtE) market, Fateh Iskandar said it is open to venture into new markets.

On data centres, he said the group has been in talks with several foreign parties.

As for its venture into WtE, Glomac is in talking stages with different parties.

On a separate note, Glomac is in the process of fulfilling the conditions precedent for the first issuance of the sukuk wakalah of up to RM250mil under the sukuk wakalah programme.

According to its filing with Bursa Malaysia, the first issuance of the sukuk wakalah should be made within 90 business days from Aug 21, 2024, with the tenure of each sukuk issued under the programme to be more than one year.

Glomac announced that its final single-tier dividend of 1.25 sen per share for the financial year 2024 had been approved by its shareholders.

Source: The Star