This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on January 26, 2026 - February 1, 2026

On the cover of its 2023 annual report, IJM Corp Bhd (KL:IJM) had the words “Respected Past. Responsible Future.” in bold, blue capital letters, with a colourful “40 years” over a white background.

Now, barely three years after its 40th anniversary, IJM may not be the only party responsible for its future. An unsolicited RM11 billion mostly-shares-plus-some-cash buyout offer for the construction-based conglomerate has been announced by Sunway Bhd (KL:SUNWAY) — the diversified behemoth controlled by billionaire tycoon Tan Sri Sir Jeffrey Cheah Fook Ling — which has its own construction arm, Sunway Construction Group Bhd (KL:SUNCON).

Truth be told, IJM’s success over the years has courted a string of suitors seeking to control it.

Those familiar with IJM will know that it has always been professionally managed — the face of the company was never its largest shareholder, which left day-to-day operations to the management team.

This was most apparent when IGB Bhd (KL:IGBB) sold its 19% interest in IJM for RM383 million to Tronoh Consolidated Malaysia Bhd in 2003. Toronoh Consolidated is today known as Zelan Bhd, a Practice Note 17 company that is 39%-owned by businessman Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary’s MMC Corp Bhd. Zelan ceased to be an IJM substantial shareholder in early 2011.

The early years

IJM’s history can be traced back to 1982, when IGB Construction Sdn Bhd, Jurutama Sdn Bhd and Mudajaya Sdn Bhd commenced merger talks to better compete with foreign companies that were dominating the growing Malaysian construction industry.

On July 16, 1983, Solidstate Sdn Bhd issued shares to acquire the three companies and a year later, it was renamed IJM Engineering & Construction Sdn Bhd — taking the first letters of the three companies. The persons instrumental in securing the merger included Datuk Yap Lim Sen, Tan Sri Ahmad Azizuddin and Koon Yew Yin. The company was listed on Sept 29, 1986.

Almost immediately after its formation, IJM expanded into quarrying via the acquisition of a 49% stake in Pucung Building Products Sdn Bhd. Shortly after, it ventured into property development via a privatisation project in Selangor involving Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor and the building of the Batu Lancang Apartments in Penang.

Seeking a steadier income stream to counter often lumpy construction earnings, IJM ventured into the plantation business in 1985 by acquiring the 4,000ha oil palm plantation, Desa Talisai, near Sandakan in Sabah. Unlocking value for shareholders, the plantation division was injected into a listed company, Rahman Hydraulic Tin Bhd, and renamed IJM Plantations Bhd, following a reverse takeover in July 2003 under which IJM retained a 49% stake in the latter after distributing two IJM Plantations shares for every five IJM shares.

IJM Plantations’ estates had grown to 25,014ha in Sabah and 36,263ha in Indonesia before IJM sold its 56.2% stake in the company to Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KL:KLK) for RM1.53 billion in December 2021.

Ventures abroad

IJM was also among the first local companies to venture abroad to diversify their income streams in the 1980s. Today, it has built an expansive foreign venture portfolio and presence in China, India, the UK, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Argentina, among others.

In 1985, it secured its first project in Sydney, Australia, and even undertook the building of residential units in Florida, the US, which was then an unfamiliar terrain for most Malaysian companies. That year, IJM acquired Sharidal Complex in Petaling Jaya, which is now called Wisma IJM, its head office.

After its flotation in 1986, IJM secured a road project in Bangladesh. Another notable foreign foray was the building of a water treatment plant in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in 1993. In 1996, it acquired a 20% stake in China’s Guangdong Provincial Expressway Development Co Ltd, which was subsequently listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. IJM’s presence in China was strengthened with a 25.5% equity interest in Yangzhong Changjiang Great Bridge, a toll concessionaire in Jiangsu. However, the China concessions were sold in the 1990s.

Venturing into Argentina in 1996, IJM entered into a concession agreement to build and operate the 56km Western Access Tollway. It has a 20% stake in Grupo Concesionario del Oeste SA, which holds the concession until end-2030.

In 1997, IJM made its first foray into India via a 60% interest in the Gautami power plant concession. A year later, it secured the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and Chennai Bypass projects, making it one of the first few Malaysian companies to succeed in the country. It was also involved in the building of the Vivekananda Bridge in Kolkata and is currently developing the Raintree Park Dwaraka Krishna Township on a 108-acre tract in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, and the 42.6-acre First City Project in Nagpur.

IJM ventured into the UK in 2012 and completed the £245 million (about RM1.4 billion) Royal Mint Gardens — comprising 265 luxury apartments in three blocks — in 2019. It is currently building the second phase — 88 Royal Mint Street — which is located near Tower Bridge.

IJM has also partnered Network Rail — the owner, operator and developer of most of Great Britain’s railway infrastructure, including 20 of the UK’s largest railway stations — to form Innova Partnership, which entails IJM scouting for redevelopment potential for Network Rail’s assets, with a potential gross development value of £7 billion. According to English newspaper reports, IJM plans to develop an 11-acre parcel situated on the northern portion of a former Shredded Wheat factory site in Hertfordshire’s Welwyn Garden City. It will build 141 retirement homes, 133 houses, 300 build-to-rent flats and a 180-room aparthotel, among others.

A penchant for corporate exercises

IJM has undertaken numerous corporate exercises over the last four decades. More often than not, the company had gains to report.

For instance, in 1997, its unit Jelutong Development Sdn Bhd was awarded a RM300 million contract to build the Jelutong Expressway and received 325 acres of development land in Penang as payment. The tract has now been developed into The LIGHT Waterfront Penang project.

In 2004, IJM, which already had a 21.13% stake in Industrial Concrete Products Bhd (ICP), acquired an additional 33.18% interest in it for RM95 million from Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan’s Hume Industries (M) Bhd. IJM then injected its wholly-owned Malaysia Rock Products Sdn Bhd into ICP for RM110 million in exchange for new shares in the latter, strengthening its shareholding to 73.78%. ICP was eventually privatised and delisted from Bursa Malaysia in December 2008.

In 2005, IJM sought to acquire 25% of financially distressed Kumpulan Europlus Bhd, a property developer with large tracts of land in Selangor, for RM33 million cash with a call option for a further 5% stake from the company’s controlling shareholder, the late Tan Sri Chan Ah Chye. Chan, who controlled both Kumpulan Europlus and Talam Corp Bhd (now Talam Transform Bhd), had been facing cash flow constraints and had approached IJM.

Kumpulan Europlus is today known as highway operator WCE Holdings Bhd, which has an 80% stake in West Coast Expressway Sdn Bhd, the operator of the 233km West Coast Expressway. IJM has 26.65% in WCE Holdings (KL:WCEHB) and controls the remaining 20% of West Coast Expressway Sdn Bhd.

A significant acquisition came in 2008 when IJM took over Tan Sri Chua Hock Chin’s Road Builder (M) Holdings Bhd for RM1.56 billion. Road Builder had a 70% stake in RB Land Holdings Bhd (previously Econstates Bhd), which eventually became part of IJM Land and was privatised for RM2 billion in mid-2014. The acquisition of Road Builder brought assets such as Kuantan Port Consortium Sdn Bhd, the operator of Kuantan Port, which forms a new trade platform and distribution hub with Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park.

But IJM has had a few misses too, such as its investment in oil and gas player Scomi Group Bhd and roller shutters maker Metec Group Bhd. Both companies have been delisted.

Will IJM continue to be professionally run if businessman Jeffrey Cheah-led Sunway succeeds in taking it over? Or will new suitors swoop in with alternative offers?

One seasoned market watcher comments: “IJM is like a pretty girl, quietly sitting in the corner [with] a number of boys asking her to dance.”

Like pretty ladies, the developments at IJM will be closely watched.

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