KUALA LUMPUR (March 13): Petronas’ dividend commitment has been a key source of funding to the federal government, who inked in an expected RM40 billion payout from the national oil and gas company in the recently tabled revised Budget 2023, from an initial projection of RM35 billion in the Oct 2022 version of the national budget that was tabled under the previous government.
The revised figure is still much lower than the bumper dividend of RM54 billion Petronas paid in FY2019, and anything more than what has been provided will be subject to affordability, said Petronas president and group chief executive officer Datuk Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz.
“It will still be subject to the usual rule. We will make dividend payments subject to affordability and and go through the necessary governance. We will have to contend with our operations, servicing of debt, and reinvestment needs," he told a press briefing held for the release of the group's FY2022 results.
“So oil price, as mentioned, we expect a correction this year as the recovery may be fragile. Typically, over the next five years, we are looking at US$70-80 per barrel. But for this year, we think we are at the lower bound of that,” he said.
Having said that, he said the RM40 billion dividend projected for 2023 should not be an issue.