People with knowledge of the matter say that Syed Mokhtar Albukhary is conducting a strategic review.
People who asked not to be identified as the process is private said that the businessman is in talks with potential advisers on options that could involve a buy out of the firm. A stake sale is one of the ways Syed Mokhtar is considering to further streamline DRB-Hicom.
Syed Mokhtar has an investment vehicle that has a majority of the firm's shares. The market value of DRB- Hicom is $663 million.
The people said that there is no final decision yet. Representatives for Syed Mokhtar didn't reply to calls or emails.
If Syed Mokhtar buys out DRB, it would be his second company to delist from the local stock exchange. The company is involved in ports and logistics, power generation and engineering and construction.
In 2012 DRB- Hicom bought a controlling stake in Proton. It sold a majority stake in the firm to a Chinese company in exchange for a controlling interest in Lotus Cars.
According to its website, the Malaysian conglomerate's automotive division has a complex that assembles 17,000 units annually. DRB-Hicom is involved with the development, assembly and distribution of military vehicles for the Malaysian armed forces.
The website shows that Bank Muamalat is one of its other interests.
P Prem Kumar helped with the project.