Sime Darby Bhd has appointed Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) president and group chief executive Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad as its new non-independent non-executive chairman with immediate effect.
In a Bursa Malaysia filing on Thursday, the group said he replaces Tan Sri Samsudin Osman, who stepped down on Dec 31 last year due to personal reasons.
Abdul Rahman, 56, previously held the same chairman role at Sime Darby from 2019 to 2020, marking his return to the board.
His reappointment comes amid reports that his tenure at PNB is expected to end by end-May, with a transition planned to deputy president and group chief executive Datuk Rizal Rickman Ramli on July 1, according to earlier media reports.
PNB, Malaysia’s largest fund manager with more than RM300 billion in assets under management, holds a 4.24% stake in Sime Darby as at Sept 8 last year, while AmanahRaya Trustees Bhd remains the group’s largest shareholder with a 32.4% stake.
Abdul Rahman has extensive experience in Malaysia’s corporate and investment sector, having previously served as group CEO of CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and CIMB Bank Bhd from 2020 to 2024. He also led PNB as president and group chief executive from 2016 to 2020.
Earlier in his career, he held senior roles at Arthur Andersen in London, Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd, Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd, Media Prima Bhd and Ekuiti Nasional Bhd, and previously served as chairman of Velesto Energy Bhd.
Sime Darby shares fell two sen or 0.9% to RM2.19 ahead of the announcement, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM14.9 billion.
