13 March 2015

RM950 juta "kredit tunggu sedia" tu "bailout"namanya...


Suntikan dana RM950juta "kredit tunggu sedia" untuk firma pelaburan 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) jelas sebuah tindakan penyelamatan (bailout), kata PKR.

Naib presidennya Rafizi Ramli berkata tindakan itu bertujuan melegakan kedudukan kewangan 1MDB yang tertekan dengan beberapa bayaran balik pinjaman dan faedah pinjaman yang perlu dilangsaikan segera.

Katanya, jika 1MDB mempunyai kedudukan kredit dan kewangan kukuh, mereka tidak perlu mengambil pinjaman atau suntikan sebaliknya hanya menyenaraikan beberapa anak syarikat untuk mendapatkan suntikan ekuiti pelabur awam atau menerbitkan bon.

Bagaimanapun, katanya, rekod kredit dan status kewangan 1MDB sangat lemah dan menyukarkan firma itu mendapat apa-apa pinjaman baru pada terma pinjaman biasa daripada institusi kewangan atau pasaran bon.

"Oleh yang demikian, tindakan mendapatkan suntikan dana dari Kerajaan Persekutuan adalah jelas merupakan tindakan bailout.

“Kerajaan Persekutuan tidak memberi pinjaman sewenang-wenangnya kepada mana-mana syarikat kerana pinjaman sewajarnya diperoleh dari institusi kewangan," katanya.

Sehubungan itu, Rafizi menasihati pengurusan 1MDB supaya menumpukan perhatian kepada usaha mengurangkan risiko kewangan yang terpaksa ditanggung oleh rakyat.

Beliau juga meminta 1MDB dan  “tidak menegakkan benang basah” dengan mengeluarkan kenyataan bahawa suntikan dana itu diberikan dalam bentuk pinjaman komersial. - mk 


RM950mil for 1MDB clear bailout...

The contradicting statements over the government’s admission of a RM950 million in "standby credit" for the embattled 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) is clear sign that it is a government bailout, said PKR.

PKR vice president Rafizi Ramli in a statement today said Finance Minister II Husni Hanadzlah’s contradicting claim to 1MDB president Arul Kanda’s statement that the amount is a “commercial loan” shows the decision had been made in haste.

“The contradictions paint a picture as if the funds was approved without going through an decision making process with scrutiny.

“I am concerned that it looks as if the cabinet has rushed the approval of the RM950 million,” he said.

The terms and agreement on the fund injection, he said, does not appear to have been finalised.

“Therefore, it is clear that the RM950 million is another ‘bailout’ to ease 1MDB’s financial situation […],” said the Pandan MP.

If 1MDB’s finances were as strong as the government claims, Rafizi said, there would be no need for a cash injection from the federal government.

Husni (right) had called the RM950 million a “standby credit” for 1MDB, while Arul had said it was a “loan according to commercial terms”.

Furthermore, Rafizi said 1MDB needed money from the government as its poor financial status can no longer allow it to obtain loans from ordinary financial institutions on normal terms.

“1MDB is also facing problems listing its assets as there is a high likelihood that its initial public offering will not be well-received.

“Therefore, the federal government’s act of injecting funds (into 1MDB) is a clear bailout,” said Rafizi, who is also Pandan MP. - mk



1MDB pinjam RM4b duit pencen untuk labur di Mongolia...

Setiausaha Agung PKR Rafizi Ramli hari ini mengetengahkan cadangan menyaman Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pencen (KWAP) atas dakwaan “pelaburan cuai”.

Anggota Parlimen Pandan membangkitkan pinjaman RM4 bilion yang diberikan kepada SRC International Sdn Bhd, syarikat milik kementerian kewangan.

Katanya, beliau serius membincangkan perkara itu dan terdapat ruang untuk memfailkan saman terhadap semua pegawai yang terlibat dalam KWAP kerana tidak berhati-hati.

SRC merupakan anak syarikat 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) ketika wang itu dipinjamkan kepada mereka.

Dana itu digunakan untuk melabur dalam syarikat tenaga Mongolia.

SRC kemudian diserap sebagai entiti milik penuh kementerian kewangan.

Kerajaan pusat menjadi penjamin untuk pinjaman itu. - mk


RM4bil KWAP loan to 1MDB stokes possible suit...

PKR secretary-general and Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli might nudge pensioners to initiate a civil suit against their fund, Retirement Fund Incorporated  (KWAP) for "careless investment".

He said this was to be considered as there are scarce answers as to the RM4 billion that KWAP had loaned to SRC International Sdn Bhd, a finance ministry-owned company.

"I am seriously discussing this matter with lawyers and there is an avenue to file a civil suit against all officers involved in KWAP for not doing due diligence on these so-called investments," Rafizi said.

SRC was a subsidiary of the beleaguered 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) when the money was loaned to them. The money was used to invest in a Mongolian coal and energy company Gobi Coal and Energe Ltd.

However, the subsidiary was subsequently absorbed as a fully-owned entity of the finance ministry, with the RM4 billion liability removed from 1MDB's books.

The loan had been guaranteed by the federal government.

Similarities with 1MDB

In a related development, Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua said he has tried to query the finance ministry on details of SRC's deal with the Mongolian company to no avail.

"Gobi Coal and Energy Ltd is an energy company based in Mongolia. The investment was made jointly with international investors, with each owning 50 percent.

"Every investment by the joint venture company is conducted in accordance to good business practices by taking a long-term perspective and considering the short-term volatile nature of market prices.

"At the same time, the company expects the prices and return on investment will increase in the longer term for natural resources," read the ministry's reply.

Pua said that this reply from the ministry amounted to nothing and yet it is eerily similar to what the finance ministry's position on 1MDB's joint-venture with PetroSaudi International.

"It was only last month after the agreement was exposed when we found out that the joint venture was an elaborate scam to immediately siphon US$700 million," said Pua in a press release this afternoon.

Pua also noted that SRC was audited by Deloitte Malaysia and led by Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, a former director of Utama Banking Group (UBG) with alleged links with businessman Jho Low, who in turn is embroiled in the 1MDB controversy.

In view of the suspicious nature of SRC's dealings, Pua said DAP called upon the finance ministry to publish the joint venture agreement with Gobi Coal and Energy Ltd and provide details of SRC's investments.

He also urged the auditor-general to investigate SRC.

"The circumstances around SRC and 1MDB are perhaps just too similar, coincidental and suspicious to be ignored," said Pua. - mk



SRC International mungkin jadi ‘1MDB kedua’...

Ahli Parlimen Petaling Jaya Utara (DAP) Tony Pua mendedahkan sebuah lagi syarikat di bawah Kementerian Kewangan, SRC International yang melabur dalam sebuah syarikat tenaga di Mongolia kemungkinan mempunyai situasi sama dengan syarikat 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Pua berkata ia susulan daripada jawapan lisan Parlimen oleh Menteri Kewangan II Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah yang mengakui SRC International  sememangnya membuat pelaburan dalam syarikat Mongolia, iaitu Gobi Coal & Energy Ltd dan mempunyai pegangan ekuiti sebanyak 50%.

Pua menyifatkan jawapan yang diberikan Husni itu sebagai‎ "menakutkan"kerana ia merupakan jawapan sama ketika beliau bertanyakan mengenai 1MDB beberapa tahun lepas. 

Malah katanya, kebimbangan mengenai ‎SRC International itu timbul apabila syarikat itu, menggunakan dana pinjaman Islam sebanyak RM4 bilion daripada Kumpulan Wang Amanah Persaraan (KWAP) yang dijamin sendiri oleh Putrajaya. – tmi

Putrajaya’s SRC another financial scandal in the making... 

DAP today sounded the alarm on another possible financial scandal similar to 1Malaysia Development Bhd's (1MDB) dubious dealings, this time with SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former subsidiary of the troubled state investment fund which had taken a RM4 billion government-backed loan.

Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua said SRC International had taken the loan from the Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP) that was disbursed in two tranches in August 2011 and March 2012.

But the company was placed directly under the Finance Ministry before the end of March 2012, he added.

"This modus operandi appears similar to how the PetroSaudi joint venture was terminated and converted into a loan on the very last day of the March 2010 financial year to avoid having to report the details of the venture," Pua said at a press conference in the Parliament lobby today.

He was referring to 1MDB's joint venture with PetroSaudi International in 2009, a deal which was eventually terminated but not before 1MDB had paid US$700 million as repayment to PetroSaudi, funds which according to documents and emails exposed went to businessman Low Taek Jho.

Pua today questioned whether SRC International's joint venture with Mongolian mining company, Gobi Coal & Energy Ltd, was similar to the 1MDB-PetroSaudi "scam".

The DAP national publicity secretary said the answer he got when he raised the question in Parliament yesterday was "scary", as the Finance Ministry refused to provide any details.

Pua said Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah had merely answered his question by confirming SRC International's investment with Gobi Coal at 50%.

"The answer is scary because it sounded exactly the same when I had queried the Minister over the past few years about 1MDB's 2009 US$1 billion joint venture investment in PetroSaudi.  

"It was only last month after the Joint Venture Agreement was exposed when we found out that the PetroSaudi joint venture was an elaborate scam to immediately siphon US$700 million into a company controlled by Jho Low and his associates," Pua said.

Also speaking on the same issue in the Parliament lobby today was Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli, who said pensioners and civil servants should sue KWAP for approving the RM4 billion loan to the little-known company.

Rafizi said it was a "careless investment" and added that PKR would help protect the interest of pensioners and civil servants.

Pua said the Auditor-General must also investigate SRC International together with the current special audit for 1MDB.

Pua added that similar to 1MDB, SRC International had no representatives from the Finance Ministry and was led by the same Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil who has been reported as an associate of Low's.

Nik Faisal was 1MDB's chief investment officer at the same time he was executive director of investments at UBG Bank, while Low was coordinating the acquisition of the bank by PetroSaudi International, Pua noted, citing the expose by whistleblower website Sarawak Report.

Pua noted that the latest financial statement on SRC International shows that it made a loss of RM164.4 million and has total liabilities amounting to RM4.34 billion.

"The circumstances around SRC International and 1MDB are perhaps just too similar, coincidental and suspicious to be ignored," he said.

Pua last year raised the issue of SRC International's RM4 billion loan and urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to give an explanation.

Pua said despite the size of the loan, SRC International's financial accounts were last filed for the year ending March 2012.

The company, which has since become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Finance Ministry, has failed to submit its annual accounts on time and Pua said its accounts for March 2013 which were due by September 2013 have yet to be submitted. 

He said the Finance Ministry should publish the joint venture agreement between SRC International and Gobi Coal & Energy- tmi

1MDB RM950 bail out - Is Najib and MoF sticking 2 fingers in the air and defying his own cabinet...

The announcement today by Finance Minister Husni Hanadzla that the government made available a "standby credit" of RM950 million to 1MDB, is shocking to say the least! CLICK HERE.

Husni's statement that a standby credit is not a loan deserves a smack on the head, if not a hard kick in the goolies. Now that 1MDB has drawndown on the standby credit, does it mean it does not owe the government the money or have to repay it? If it's not a loan, what is it? A free gift? This is what BUMNO/SCUMNO Ministers and politicians have matured into under PM Najib's maladministration - champions in splitting hairs, playing around with semantics and spindoctoring, thinking they can easily fool the public. A scurrilous lot, these vermin.

A rose by any other name smells the same. A standby credit is no different from a loan and a bailout since it confirms that 1MDB is financially, in dire straits. However, on 27th February, The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) announced that the Cabinet had rejected a proposed RM3 billion cash injection into 1MDB. CLICK HERE.

Husni's announcement today means that PM Najib, as also Finance Minister, has stuck two fingers in the air at his own Cabinet and told them to stick it where the sun don't shine. This is insulting not only to the (wooden IKEA) Cabinet, but also to all the citizens of Malaysia. It reflects poorly and badly on PM Najib's integrity and honesty. How can we not conclude then that the Rakyat will be stuck with 1MDB's RM46 billion debt?

Equally shocking is this gobbledygook from PM Najib vis-a-vis 1MDB's RM970 million parked in BSI Singapore, a wholly owned subsidiary of BSI AG, Switzerland. CLICK HERE.

"The decision to use BSI Singapore (is) to facilitate easier withdrawals since regulations set by Bank Negara Malaysia needed its approval for transactions over RM50 million".

But it does mean that 1MDB, knowingly kept these funds overseas to avoid being detected by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). Isn't that a crime under our laws? Were PM Najib, Finance Minister II Husni and Chief Secretary to the MoF, Mohamad Irwan Serigar Abdullah, all complicit in this charade of blindfolding BNM? 

It does not even matter if the money was parked in Switzerland or Timbuktu. Money placed in Singapore does not absolve anyone of suspicion that something fishy has been done, any more than Timbuktu. The only reason all these transactions were done overseas is that 1MDB wanted to fly below BNM's radar, and did not wish to be scrutinised by it for possible contraventions of money-laundering and other statutes. 

And it's not possible that PM Najib who also doubles as the Finance Minister, is not aware of these wheelings and dealings. If per chance, by a miracle, he is proven to be in the dark, he ought to be sacked at once anyway for gross incompetence and dereliction of duty, as should Husni and Serigar Abdullah.

The only reason, the money is encumbered, i.e. cannot be utilised to settle 1MDB's debts, is because someone else, a bank/financial institution/bond holder has a first charge on it, possibly someone who has guaranteed 1MDB's loans or, it's security for some other investment which is trading below cost, and 1MDB cannot afford to incur a huge capital loss by divesting just now.

Sheesh! One lie leads to another and another and another. 

CEO Kenneth Kaunda Kundi, stop being an accessory to arguably and possibly the most massive fraud case in Malaysian history. Speak the truth and save the country now, or be the idiot who was misused by BUMNO/SCUMNO for a cover up. So, too the two previous CEO's, Board of Director, Chairman, and financial controllers. The ball is in your court. Save the country and the Rakyat, or save Najib? - donplaypuks




cheers.

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