Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Apr 2): The steering of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) has again come into question following an announcement by the CIMB Group that its services as adviser to the potential sale of Edra Global Energy Bhd (Edra) is no longer required by the Ministry of Finance.

DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua said this was an apparent flip-flop from the Ministry's initial decision to appoint CIMB as a "third party" to perform an evaluation of 1MDB's power assets for an initial public offering (IPO).

The bank had also made a statement the next day that it had been appointed to act as adviser on the potential sale of 1MDB's energy arm.

"What in the world is happening to MoF and the management of 1MDB? Who exactly is leading the entire restructuring exercise?

"Is it the newly announced taskforce comprising of Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa and Treasury Secretary-General Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah?

"Or is it the new president and CEO of 1MDB, Arul Kanda Kandasamy with his board of directors chaired by Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin?

"Or for that matter, is the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is also the Finance Minister calling the shots? Or worse, is it once again, the wheeling-dealing billionaire prodigy Jho Low masterminding behind the scenes?" Pua questioned.

Pua said the government and 1MDB had become "the ultimate butt of jokes in the global financial community".

"The fickle-minded decision-making process in the mechanisms to rescue and bailout the financially distressed 1MDB only goes to prove that we have a bunch of clueless ministerial clowns managing the RM42 billion debacle," he said.

On Tuesday, Pua and PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli had demanded for Ahmad Husni to clarify CIMB's role in the sale of 1MDB's power asset.

They alleged that Ahmad Husni had made a misleading statement in Parliament when he said CIMB was appointed as a third party to evaluate 1MDB's power assets for an initial public offering (IPO), which differed from the banking group's follow-up release, stating it was appointed as adviser to the finance ministry to find strategic investors for the potential sale of Edra Global.

"This is a far-reaching decision which directly implies that 1MDB has all but abandoned the original option to raise funds via an initial public offering (IPO) of Edra Global.

"No company with any confidence with its own business and financial valuation to raise funds via an IPO would concurrently appoint another investment bank to conduct an auction for its assets," said Pua.

Pua and Rafizi had also threatened to refer Ahmad Husni to the Parliament's Rights and Privileges Committee if a clarification was not made by today.

Yesterday, The Edge reported that the proposed sale of Edra Global had been scrapped based on a statement released by CIMB stating,"CIMB has been informed by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) that the MoF has decided not to consider a sale of Edra to strategic investors and as such, CIMB's services as adviser to the potential sale are no longer required."

The Business Times had earlier reported that 1MDB might call off the long-delayed IPO and instead divest the entire portfolio of 16 power and desalination plants to tackle its hefty debt woes.

At the same time, another taskforce was also announced by the Attorney-General, comprising the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the A-G Chambers that will look into the fund's dealings following reports made against it.

Ahmad Husni had reiterated his previous notion that the main issue plaguing 1MDB was its cash-flow problems as it was deep in debt, noting that the company's woes would be resolved once the IPO takes off, expected in the second quarter of this year for its power plant assets.

Reuters reported in December that the IPO was aimed at helping the state investor reduce a debt burden that exceeded US$11 billion (RM40 billion).

Plans for the sale have been delayed several times, bankers say, due to a longer-than-expected due diligence process and debt refinancing negotiations.

Following a series of expose and criticism from even former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Najib ordered the auditor-general to "independently verify 1MDB's accounts", with the findings to be passed to a bipartisan parliamentary public accounts committee.

 

 

 

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