SARAWAK Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg said the state's acquisition of a 4.95% stake in Affin Bank Bhd could be sealed “in two weeks”.
On April 13, the bank, in a filing with Bursa Malaysia, said the Armed Forces Fund Board had sold 112.56 million shares in the bank to the Sarawak financial secretary for RM221.74 million.
The bank said it had sold the shares, representing 4.95% of the total issued shares, at RM1.97 each.
The deal, if successful, could make the Sarawak government the third-largest Affin shareholder.
It would also mean the completion of two of the three entities the state was targeting to take over this year. The other two entities are Bintulu Port and MasWings.
The federal government has said it will hand over the port in June.
At his Raya open house yesterday in Kuching, Abang Johari said he was also “very confident” of a state takeover of MasWings at the end of the year.
MasWings, the operator of the government’s subsidised Rural Air Service in Sarawak and Sabah, is a unit of the Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), which also owns national carrier Malaysia Airlines.
Last October, the state government, via the state-owned airline Hornbill Skyways Sdn Bhd, signed an MOU with MAG to take over shares in MasWings.
“They have agreed to give the rural air service a subsidy to take over the airline,” Abang Johari said.
Abang Johari said MasWings would be differently managed but did not go into details, citing ongoing talks.
All he said was: “I have a different business model”. – The Vibes, April 11, 2024
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