Ijm

1.0 Introduction

IJM can trace its beginnings to three well-run construction companies - IGB Construction Sdn Bhd, Jurutama Sdn Bhd and Mudajaya Sdn Bhd. These three enterprising construction companies merged in 1984 in a bid to compete more effectively against bigger foreign rivals who were making their presence strongly felt in the Malaysian market in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Jurutama and Mudajaya, founded by the country's first generation of engineers to become contractors, brought with them professionalism and management systems into the newly formed RM31 million-construction group. Well capitalised and possessing an impressive track record, IJM then gained immediate market acceptance and considerable financial capacity to compete effectively. Today, IJM is recognised as one of the few independent professionally-run companies in Malaysia with an excellent track record for performance in both local and international markets. This is evident from the many awards conferred on the Company. The Construction Industry Development Board conferred on the Company the Malaysian International Contractor of the Year Award in 2000,the Malaysian Builder of the Year Award in 2001 and the Project Award (Major Building Category) in 2003. The Group's success in exporting its construction services abroad has not gone unnoticed. The Malaysian International Trade and Industry Ministry honoured the Company with its Excellence Award 2003 for Export of Services. To add feather to its cap, the Company was awarded the inaugural Malaysian Business Corporate Governance Award in 2002, and the KLSE Corporate Merit Award (Construction Sector) in 2002 and 2003. IJM was able to grow by leaps and bounds over the past two decades by building on its core competencies, diversification being predominantly confined to related businesses and expanding into new markets. The Company took its first step into property development out of necessity during the recession in the mid-1980s. There were fewer construction opportunities then but the Government provided land for companies to build mass low and medium cost houses under privatization programmes. Leveraging on its construction skills, several such projects were successfully undertaken by the Group, setting the foundation for its Properties Division. Today, property development is a major part of the Group's activities and increasingly an international one.

Similarly, IJM took the opportunity to transform its internal building material operations, such as manufacturing of concrete products and quarrying into core activities as demand grew significantly outside the Group, setting the foundation for the Group's present Industries Division. The recent acquisition of control over Industrial Concrete Products Berhad has significantly expanded the Group's operations in this sector. In its first truly diversification move, the Group ventured into plantations in 1985 in a bid to reduce the impact to the Group of the cyclical nature of earnings from the Construction Division. The investment in plantations has paid off handsomely. The Plantations Division has contributed significantly to the Group's earnings over the years and also helped cushion the Group's earnings during the difficult times, such as the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis. This Division is now listed on the Mainboard of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad ("BMSB"). IJM has been very successful in the overseas infrastructure privatisation (Build-Operate-Transfer) schemes, investing in major infrastructure projects such as Guangdong Provincial Expressway in China, Western Access Tollway project in Argentina, Swarna and Rewa tolled highway projects in India, Binh An Water Corporation Limited water treatment plant in Vietnam and others. The Infrastructure Division has

over the years contributed substantially to the Group's earnings. With several concessions under construction in India and, for the first time, an opportunity to participate in Malaysian toll roads, the infrastructure concession business will become a major