The planned raising will be funded by issuing US$500 million in debt from banks and around US$526 million from the sale of 10-year bonds in the domestic market.

The three plants, located in the east coast state of Terengganu, cost around US$954 million to build and began operations two years ago.

While no one from Optimal was willing to comment as to when the fund-raising would begin, sources within the company have revealed to the media that Optimal hopes to conclude all fund-raising sometime in the second quarter of this year.