KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 30): The RM2.07 billion additional tax claim against Tenaga Nasional Bhd is deemed unprecedented in Malaysia's corporate history, according to CIMB Investment Bank Bhd.

CIMB analyst Saw Xiao Jun wrote in a note today that such quantum would significantly dent state-controlled utility Tenaga's cash pile and raise its effective tax rates.

Last Friday, Tenaga said it was appealing against the Inland Revenue Board's (IRB) additional tax notices.

Tenaga said the notices involved RM985.74 million and RM1.08 billion for the 2013 and 2014 assessment years respectively.

Today, Saw said if Tenaga's appeal failed, it would have to pay the RM2.07 billion tax.

He said CIMB's estimates showed that Tenaga's current cash pile of RM8.9 billion would be cut to some RM6.9 billion.

"The quantum of additional taxes demanded by the IRB is almost unheard of in the history of corporate Malaysia. RM2.07 billion is equivalent to a value of RM0.37 per share or 2.7% of Tenaga's current share price and 2.3% of our target price (TP).

"By adding the additional taxes to Tenaga's tax expenses recognised in FY13 and FY14, its effective tax rates would rise from 9% and 10% to 26% and 25%, respectively," Saw said.

In the worst-case scenario, Saw said CIMB would cut its TP for Tenaga shares to RM13.50 from RM15.70.

Tenaga shares fell as much as 32 sen or 2.4% to RM13.28 today. At 10.16am, the stock was traded at RM13.32 for a market capitalisation of RM75.12 billion.

The third-largest decliner across Bursa Malaysia saw some three million shares transacted.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company's profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)