KUALA LUMPUR – Umno president Datuk Seri Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has backed the idea of Petronas taking over ailing Sapura Energy Bhd, saying that the national oil and gas company is a suitable entity to bring an immediate turnaround to Sapura’s fortunes.
Throwing his weight behind the proposal made by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Zahid said that the bailout would not directly involve government funds.
He said that top fund manager Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) had invested some RM5 billion in Sapura Energy. He pointed out that this involved holdings of more than 10 million Amanah Saham Nasional depositors.
Sapura Energy is a public-listed company with substantial financial backing from state-owned PNB, which holds a 40% stake in the company.
Najib had mooted that Petronas take over Sapura Energy, a state-owned energy company, during his televised debate with opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
During his address at a special Umno general meeting this afternoon, Zahid stressed that Sapura Energy employs a workforce of 10,000 and has 3,000 vendors.
“However, we agree that a forensic audit must be carried out so that there is transparency,” Zahid said, concurring with Anwar’s insistence on this during the debate.
Zahid also said Umno wants to see the Malay and Bumiputera agenda be upheld and consolidated in the next two decades. This includes solidifying Bumiputera fund managers, he stressed.
“PNB, Tabung Haji, Felda, Mara, and Bumiputera equity holding institutions must be the agenda for the government, without succumbing to pressure for the agenda to be set aside,” he said.
On Thursday, Anwar rubbished Najib’s proposal for Petronas to rescue Sapura Energy, despite the latter’s assertion that it did not involve “a single sen” from the government’s coffers.
Alternatively, Najib said banks can provide loans to the troubled Sapura Energy, and the injection from the financial institutions would be guaranteed by the government.
Najib used the examples of companies such as AIG and Citigroup, which were both bailed out by the US government and later went on to record profits.
He said a bailout of Sapura Energy would benefit Petronas and Malaysian investors, especially those who put their savings in Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd’s (ASNB) ASB fund.
In response, Anwar retorted that Petronas is also a government-owned entity, and that the company belongs to the people of the country.
Sapura Energy’s financial woes recently came under the spotlight, with the firm’s need for further financial aid raising questions on whether PNB, which is also in charge of funds like ASNB’s ASB, would have to pump in further funds.
Sapura Energy posted a net loss of RM8.9 billion for the financial year ending January 31, 2022, compared to a net loss of RM160.87 the year before, Bernama previously reported.
The firm has been in troubled waters ever since oil prices crashed in 2014, leading to its market capitalisation shrinking to RM639 million today from a whopping RM28 billion in early 2014. – The Vibes, May 15, 2022
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