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UEM-EPF in the driver’s seat for PLUS

Malaysian finance/business, Public transport 3 Responses »

Jan 172011

Latest: PLUS has accepted the UEM-EPF bid as a confirmed offer. MMC meanwhile had submitted its bid directly to the government.

See Singapore Business Times story here.

While we are all distracted by the ethnic and religious controversies in the country, watch out for these big-ticket deals.

On the sale of PLUS Expressways Bhd, one of the most lucrative assets in the country: UEM-EPF remains the only bidder (RM23 billion) after Jelas Ulung, which had submitted a RM26 billion bid, dropped out of the race when it failed to come up with a RM50 million deposit. Continue reading »

Second privatisation wave: Now that’s scary…

Malaysian finance/business, Neo-liberal economics 34 Responses »

Oct 242009

I was paying only casual attention while Najib droned on over the radio when tabling his Budget in Parliament yesterday.

But my ears pricked up when he mentioned a “second wave of privatisation”.

The Bernama headline says it all: ‘Companies Under MOF Inc And Other Viable Agencies To Be Privatise’ (sic).

Why only the viable agencies? Is this going to be more of “privatisation of profits and socialisation of losses” – at the expense of the Malaysian public?

The first thing that crossed my mind was: which cash cow is going to be handed over to which crony now? Don’t tell me they are going ahead with plans to privatise cash cow Plus Expressways Bhd, which is owned by Khazanah (24 per cent directly and 40 per cent indirectly).