Hatten Land, on Sept 16, announced that it was looking to jointly explore business opportunities with Singapore Myanmar Investco (SMI) in cryptocurrency mining activities, namely in energy-efficient ‘green’ cryptocurrency mining.
The group, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Hatten Technology, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SMI, where it will see the installation of cryptocurrency mining machines within the group’s assets in Melaka, Malaysia.
To date, the group operates six malls with a built-up area of over six million sqft. It also owns four hotels in Melaka.
The move comes after SMI announced that had placed orders for up to 4,000 cryptocurrency mining machines on Aug 24.
See: Singapore Myanmar Investco orders up to 800 cryptocurrency mining machines
According to a filing on Sept 16, Hatten Land intends to install up to 2,000 cryptomining machines at its green cryptomining centre.
The MOU will tap on Hatten Technology’s know-how in terms of managing ‘green’ cryptomining facilities. It will also leverage on the group’s space, infrastructure and lower energy costs to carry out ‘green’ cryptomining activities.
Under the MOU, both Hatten Land and SMI will work towards a definitive agreement within the next 90 days from the effective date of the MOU being Sept 30.
Hatten Land says it expects to install and operate the rigs from December.
Solar energy initiatives
On the same day, Hatten Land announced that it has embarked on a strategic partnership to power its malls and land reserves with solar energy.
The group’s subsidiary, Hatten Commercial Management Sdn Bhd has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Neston Sustainable Solutions Sdn Bhd to explore opportunities related to solar energy.
Nestcon Sustainable Solutions is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bursa Malaysia-listed Nestcon Bhd.
Under the agreement, both parties will seek to enter into a definitive agreement within one year, where it will work together to set up a joint venture (JV) and, or consortium with other partners.
The JV or consortium will install and manage solar panels at Hatten Land’s malls in Melaka.
An estimated 6,373 solar panels will first be installed at Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall, the largest mall in Melaka.
The solar panels are said to be able to generate up to 3.19 MWp of solar energy.
In addition, Hatten Land and Nestcon will jointly collaborate with other potential partners to supply, construct and manage solar photovoltaic plants and facilities in Malaysia.
Overall, the strategic partnership is expected to lower energy costs for Hatten Land, accelerate its sustainability efforts and support the ‘green’ cryptomining initiative.
Proposed share price of $1.8 million
Further to the announcement, Hatten Land says it seeks to raise $1.8 million by placing 80 million new shares at 2.3 cents apiece.
The shares represent some 4.78% of the enlarged share capital of Hatten Land’s new total of 1.68 billion shares.
The price represents a discount of about 5.74% over the volume weighted average price (VWAP) of 2.44 cents per share on Sept 10.
The shares will be issued to Asdew Acquisitions, Evolve Capital Management and Ong Toon Wah at 40 million, 20 million and 20 million each respectively.
Asdew Acquisitions is an investment holding company majority owned by Alan Wang Yu Huei. Wang owns stakes in several companies including Acromec.
Evolve Capital is a fund registered under the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) that looks at investing in growth capital investments.
Ong is a seasoned investor and a founding member and senior executive in several listed companies including Horizon Limited and The9 Limited. He is also a director and 10% shareholder of Hatten Land’s subsidiary, The Medici-Watermark.
Each placement share comes with a detachable warrant that can be converted to shares in Hatten Land at 4.8 cents within two years.
Hatten Land’s issued share capital base will be enlarged further to 1.76 billion shares assuming full conversion of the warrants, which the subscribers will hold 9.12%.
The proceeds will be used as working capital as well as pursue technology and solar initiatives, says Hatten Land.
“‘Green’ crypto mining activities will allow Hatten Land to leverage on existing fixed assets in Melaka, harness our own renewable energy initiative and create new revenue stream with the cryptocurrency proceeds,” says Dato’ Colin Tan, executive chairman and managing director of Hatten Land.
“We are also equally excited to embark on the solar energy collaboration with Nestcon, at a time when sustainability is becoming increasingly important. Combining our efforts and resources, we are confident that the partnership will allow us to harness new business opportunities and further our sustainability efforts.”
“These are significant milestones for Hatten Land and it aligns with our digital transformation roadmap to increase shareholder value in a sustainable manner,” he adds.
Shares in Hatten Land last traded at 2.5 cents on Sept 10 before its trading halt on the morning of Sept 13.
Photo: Hatten Land
