SK Ecoplant Acquires 30% Stake in Malaysia's Largest Environmental Company 'Sembairo'

▲ Malaysia Senbairo Integrated Waste Management Center

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] SK Ecoplant has acquired a 30% stake in Senbairo, Malaysia's largest state-owned integrated environmental company.

On the 20th, SK Ecoplant announced that it signed a share purchase agreement (SPA) with Khazanah, Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund that owns 100% of Senbairo, at the Susong Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul. SK Ecoplant stated that the contract amount will not be disclosed.

Senbairo is an integrated environmental company headquartered in Malaysia. Its key business areas include ▲ designated waste treatment ▲ municipal waste treatment ▲ E-waste (waste from electronic devices such as mobile phones and PCs) treatment and recycling.

Since 1998, it has built and operated Malaysia's first integrated waste management center and currently holds and operates the only designated waste incineration and landfill site on the Malaysian Peninsula. It handles about 100,000 tons of waste annually, performing waste collection and transportation, incineration and landfill, as well as recycling and reuse. It also holds the largest number of waste licenses in Malaysia.

With major clients such as Petronas, Malaysia's largest state-owned oil company, Senbairo secures stable sales, recording approximately 120 million USD (about 152 billion KRW) in sales last year.

SK Ecoplant explained, "Malaysia's continuous population growth of 1.3% annually and economic growth rate exceeding 5% have expanded resource consumption, leading to an increasing trend in waste generation each year. With the Malaysian government's strengthened environmental regulations, the demand for legal waste treatment is rising, indicating high growth potential."

Since 2020, SK Ecoplant has actively promoted eco-friendly businesses. Following the acquisition of Korea's largest environmental platform company, Environmental Facility Management, for about 1 trillion KRW, it acquired six environmental companies last year and two more this year. It currently holds the top position in domestic water treatment, first in industrial waste incineration, second in medical waste incineration, and third in waste landfill, solidifying its status as an environmental business operator. In February, it acquired TES, a global E-waste company with the most bases worldwide, entering the global electronic device and electric vehicle battery recycling and reuse business.

Through these acquisitions and investments, SK Ecoplant plans to accelerate its 'bolt-on' strategy of acquiring similar companies mainly in the Southeast Asian market and use this as a foothold to enter advanced markets such as North America and Europe.