Sime Darby Bhd's plantation and property units debuted on the Malaysian stock exchange this morning, with the plantations arm holding near its reference price while the property arm eased.

Sime Darby Plantations Bhd began trade at 5.60 ringgit a share, in line with its listing reference price of 5.59 ringgit. Sime Darby Property Bhd opened at 1.29 ringgit a share, versus its 1.50 ringgit reference price.

Sime Darby announced the spin-off plan in January, aiming to create three stand-alone businesses that could each focus on their core activities. Sime Darby's trading and logistics business remained in the parent company.

The plantations and property businesses accounted for nearly 70 percent of the group's profit during the 2016 business year.

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