Battersea Investment Losses Highlight Need For Closer Scrutiny - Anwar
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said overseas investments must be scrutinised more closely to prevent similar losses, citing the Battersea Power Station redevelopment project in the United Kingdom.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said the initial investment in the Battersea redevelopment was excessively high, resulting in financial losses, but efforts are being made to mitigate the losses.
“I agree with the calls and criticism that some of the measures taken in the past, including Battersea in the UK, involved an initial investment that was too high and incurred losses, although efforts are now underway to turn it around,” he said during the Prime Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Anwar was responding to a supplementary question from Hassan Karim (PKR-Pasir Gudang) on the total investments by government-linked companies (GLCs) and government-linked investment companies (GLICs) in the Battersea Power Station redevelopment project in London, and its benefits to the national economy.
Anwar said institutions such as the Retirement Fund (Incorporated), Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) continued to explore investment opportunities both locally and overseas.
However, he said the government had, over the past three years, prioritised domestic investments, initially setting a minimum allocation of 20 per cent.
The proportion was subsequently increased based on the readiness and capacity of the respective institutions, said Anwar.
The prime minister emphasised that most overseas investments had generated strong profits.
The wider Battersea development is held by a Malaysian consortium comprising Sime Darby Property and SP Setia, each with a 40 per cent stake, while the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) owns the remaining 20 per cent.
Commercial properties within the former power station, now converted into a shopping mall, are separately owned by PNB and EPF.
-- BERNAMA