KUALA LUMPUR: Tadmax Resources Bhd has come out to say that the claims made by DAP national publicity chief Tony Pua on the sale of its Pulau Indah land in Selangor to Ivory Merge Sdn Bhd were “misleading” and “incorrect”.

In addressing Pua’s allegations, the company said it owes it to its shareholders and stakeholders to clarify this matter, "who may also  be just as perplexed by the incorrect accusations made against the company”.

It was responding to allegations by Pua that the Cabinet had abused its powers to bail out Tadmax.

In a statement yesterday, Tadmax said it had always acted in the best interests of its shareholders, and had disposed of its non-core assets as part of its restructuring strategy.

This included the disposal of the Pulau Indah land to Ivory Merge, a subsidiary of debt-ridden 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

“Ivory Merge was not the only company negotiating with Tadmax to buy the subject property at that time. There was also no compulsion for Ivory Merge to enter into the transaction. Tadmax was at that time already in discussions with several parties which had indicated interest in the subject property,” said Tadmax.

It added that the transaction was done transparently in full compliance with Bursa Malaysia’s requirements.

On the selling price of the land, Tadmax said that the land was sold at a price of RM21.80 per sq ft (psf), in accordance with a valuation carried out by independent valuer Azmi & Co (Shah Alam) Sdn Bhd on Jan 25, 2014.

“The valuation was also subject to the approval of the Valuation Department of the Securities Commission Malaysia [in compliance with the Compliance Rules of Bursa for sale of assets],” it said.

The company also noted that the recent transaction price of land in Pulau Indah ranges between RM25 psf and RM66 psf.

On Pua’s statement that the land was valued at RM9.93 psf in August 2011, the company clarified that the figure was actually the initial cost of the land in 2005, when Tadmax acquired it.

It went on to say that assets under the land and development expenditure classification are required by the law to be stated at the lower end of historical costs and net realisable values, which can be assessed by undertaking a  revaluation.

On the allegation that Wijaya Baru Global Bhd (now Tadmax) was the parent of Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd, the turnkey developer of the controversial Port Klang Free Zone project, Tadmax said this is “factually not correct”.

The company also clarified that Datuk Seri Abdul Azim Zabidi is no longer the chairman of Tadmax, following his resignation on March 24, 2014.

Tadmax (fundamental: 0.6; valuation: 0.9) shares closed unchanged at 33 sen yesterday, with a market capitalisation of RM146.77 million.

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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 25, 2015.