Energy ministry is new shareholder in oil trading hub IEG Malta

Malta's ministry for energy and water conservation will replace government investment promotion arm Malta Enterprise as the new shareholder in IEG Malta Limited.

IEG was formed in May between the Malta Enterprise Corporation and New Silkroutes Group (Europe) Limited.

On 5 November 2015, a board resolution was passed to facilitate the transfer of the10% stake held by Malta Enterprise in IEG, to Malta’s Ministry for Energy.

“The handover from Malta Enterprise to MEH will ensure that the implementation of this initiative is aligned to Malta’s strategy to become an important Mediterranean energy trading hub between Europe and Asia,” the government said.

The ministry is now represented on the board of IEG through its Permanent Secretary, who will replace Malta Enterprise chairman Mario Vella.

The joint venture dubs itself as “a trading hub in the Euro-Asian oil trade flow”.

IEG Malta’s parent company is International Energy Group Pte Ltd (IEG). International Energy Group Pte Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Digiland International Limited, a Singapore incorporated company listed on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange Trading Ltd.

International Energy Group Pte Ltd is engaged in the wholesale and retail trading of petrochemical products.  “The Maltese operation is expected to carry out its first transactions shortly, enabling The Republic of Malta to profile itself as a centre of financial services in this field. Initially, the joint venture company will be using Malta as an oil trading hub and plans to increase eventually its activities into oil blending and bunkering. The company intends to trade energy products between Europe and Asia,” Digiliand International said in May.

“Malta has an island-economy much like Singapore and Hong Kong with little natural resources and a dependency on intellect and investment capital. I believe that Malta has the potential to punch well above its weight class,” IEG’s Chairman and Executive Director Goh Jin Hian had said.

New Silkroutes CEO Dr Goh Jin Hian said that the company is “on track” in collaborating with the government to develop Malta as the price discovery centre for energy in the EU and the Mediterranean. “In our transformation, we have focused on setting the pace for IEG to be the leading oil and gas player on the Euro-Asian arena. The collaboration with the Malta government is timely, given that we can now capitalise on the recently concluded EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA),” he adds.

New Silkroutes shares, now under trading halt, last traded at 0.1 cents.