KUALA LUMPUR: 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) said that the US$150 million (RM562 million) loan granted by the Export-Import Bank of Malaysia (Exim Bank) was used to finance the general corporate purposes, future capital expenditure and equity infusion of the energy business within its group of companies.

In a statement yesterday, 1MDB president and group executive director Arul Kanda Kandasamy said this was in accordance with terms of the loan agreement. 

“It is well-known that the 1MDB Group includes Edra Energy, a leading international independent power producer with a portfolio of 13 power and desalination plants in five countries,” said Arul, who has been summoned to appear before the Public Accounts Committee for the 1MDB probe.

Both Exim Bank and 1MDB are wholly owned by the Ministry of Finance.

Arul Kanda was responding to media reports that Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Chua Tee Yong told Parliament that 1MDB had used the loan from Exim Bank to buy land in Pulau Indah.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 19, 2015.