Saturday, July 16, 2016

1MDB to be a run-off company

By Sharen Kaur
Published in NST, July 16, 2016

KUALA LUMPUR: 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) will be a run-off company following the transfer of all its assets to the Minister of Finance Inc (MOF Inc).

Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani said 1MDB would not be sealed off immediately after the asset sale.



“We will sell the assets and run off the company as it has debts to repay. We will slowly retire the debt with the plans we have, which is selling and developing the land in Bandar Malaysia and Tun Razak Exchange (TRX),” he said.

So far, 1MDB has transferred the ownership of Bandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd and TRX City Sdn Bhd to MOF Inc. 1MDB also owns land in Air Itam in Penang, and Pulau Indah in Klang.

For the land at Westports in Klang, Johari said MOF Inc was in the process of getting a buyer.

For the 104.52ha in Air Itam, it intends to work closely with a suitable developer for a mega project. Johari said for assets like Bandar Malaysia and TRX, the plan was to team up with the private sector to develop the land.

“We have signed agreements with Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Bhd and China Railway Engineering Corp for Bandar Malaysia and can expect the gross development value (GDV) to reach RM50 billion to RM60 billion.”

He said 1MDB was a company that started with a very noble idea. According to Johari, the idea was basically to use 1MDB to leverage its ability to borrow money and do something that an ordinary company could not do — to develop huge assets like Bandar Malaysia and TRX, and at the same time, consolidate the energy sector.

“Unfortunately, along the way, things went wrong. I am quite pleased to see that the government is willing to come out openly to allow the Public Accounts Committee to do a report and allow people like myself to study that report,” he added.

Johari said three conclusions were made following the report. They included a wrong business model for 1MDB, weak management and lack of corporate governance.

Efficient tax system to boost revenue

By Sharen Kaur
Published in NST, July 16, 2016

The second part of the New Straits Times exclusive interview with Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani.

Question: What is your take on the Goods and Services Tax (GST)? Answer: Many people say we, the government, are taking the money from the rakyat through GST. GST is a system that replaces the Sales and Services Tax (SST). GST is an efficient tax system that has been used by more than 170 countries in the world. It is a very efficient system that can reduce our “black economy”.



Q: What do you mean by “black economy”?
A: “Black economy” is untraceable and non-taxable business transactions. That is where a big chunk of the GST revenue now comes from. If people say we collect additional tax from the rakyat, the answer is “no”. You must analyse the figures. The imported goods in this country are a lot. For most of these goods the government is supposed to collect SST, but it was not reported to us. Unfortunately, I can’t share with you the details. We really collect a lot from the import of goods as companies have to declare. If they don’t declare they will not be able to claim their input tax.

Q: Do you see revenue increasing from GST?
A: We expect revenue to increase as we are able to efficiently manage our tax system. It would not be at the expense of the rakyat as a majority of the additional revenue that the government collects is from the untraceable, that includes non-taxable business transactions in the past. When we implemented GST, companies that imported goods started to declare their taxes. They can’t avoid paying GST as the system will also allow them to claim input tax. If they don’t pay, it’s just a matter of time (before) we trace them. The tax collection from the import of goods has increased by more than 150 per cent because in the past many businesses did not pay their SST. Now, they have no choice but to pay the GST.

Q: Are small business owners paying GST?
A: Local companies, especially the ones that are not registered like family-owned businesses, backyard operators and sole proprietors, are exempted from paying GST if their annual sales turnover is less than RM500,000. For those doing millions of ringgit of business, they have to pay tax. Before this they pay 10 per cent SST, now under GST they pay six per cent.

Q: Why have prices of goods increased after the GST?
A: Businesses used to make more profits because some of them didn’t pay SST... but now they have to pay GST. And because of that they don’t want to reduce their profit. They want to still maintain their profit margin. That’s why you see a sudden increase in the prices of goods because some of them take the easy way out by adding GST on top their current selling price. By right, they should reduce the SST elements in the product and then only add the GST on it.

Q: Is the lower-income group affected by the GST?
A: For the government, when we implemented the GST, we knew there would be a spike because suddenly businesses would start to realise that if they pay GST, their profit margin would reduce. So what they do is they increase the prices of goods. Previously they were not paying the SST to the government. That is why the government decided to give the low-income earners the BR1M (1Malaysia People’s Aid) of RM1,000.

Take an example of those who earn RM2,000. If you ask them how they spend, they will list buying rice, sugar, oil, and flour, and paying for transport and education. When you look at the list, those items are already tax-exempted.

But, of course, there would be items that they have to spend on that come with GST. If they spend 25 per cent of their income on GST goods, the tax works out to about RM50. If you times that with 12 months, it is RM600. But the government is giving them RM1,000. So at the end of the day, the lower-income group will benefit and that is what we want, which is to lift some of their financial burden.

But, of course, those with salary of RM10,000, RM15,000 or RM20,000, they will have no choice but to pay GST if they spend beyond the above items. The system is very effective because it will put all businesses on the same level playing field. In the long term it will be good for the country. For the traders, at the end of the day, they have to compete among themselves without anyone having advantage for not paying taxes.

We need healthy competition. If you are not competitive it’s just a matter of time before customers will not buy from you. This disparity in prices will adjust naturally over time. I’ll give you an example. When Celcom was a single mobile phone operator, it charged 20 sen per SMS (short message service). Now, you see the price has reduced by more than 70 per cent, as there are other players competing to offer the best deal. Today, you only have to pay three sen for sending a SMS. You now have more options to choose from to get the best deal. You have Maxis, Digi, U-Mobile, Yes and other small operators. Yes, I like competition because if you want to be a developed country you cannot run away from engaging or participating in competition.

Q: What is the estimate of our “black economy”?
A: Our “black economy”, some people tell me, is about 30 per cent of the GDP (gross domestic product). Some say it’s about 20 or 10 per cent. But I don’t like to say something without providing the evidence. As we go through this, you will be able to see it as it will slowly translate into our GDP, tax collection and competitiveness in the industries. It is important for us to reduce the black economy. If you have a company that operates in Malaysia under the “black economy”, that means it doesn’t pay GST and corporate tax. It only operates and sells goods without declaring its records. When genuine investors come and invest in the same industry, they invest in a factory, build their capacity and pay the GST and corporate tax, but they cannot fight the market because there is no level playing field. In business you must provide a level playing field. When there is a level playing field, that is where the competition comes. But if one is paying and the other is not, how are you creating a level playing field? I think this is where the role of the government is, which is trying to make sure that we try to reduce as much as possible the black economy and create level playing field for businesses to compete healthily. When you get the right system, you will get more and more serious players coming here to do business.

Q: What are the revenue-raising initiatives for 2016 and onwards? Where do you see the potential for growth?
A: Malaysia is an open economy. The next two years are not going to be easy for the global economy. There are a lot of challenges ahead of us. We must emphasise on our export activities and services industries. Our economy is very diversified. The services industry accounts for 54 per cent of our GDP, manufacturing (23 per cent), plantation (eight per cent), mining (nine per cent), (and) construction (four per cent). Our financial system is resilient and banking sector is well- institutionalised. We must also look at the tourism industry. These are the areas we can promote in order to basically defend our economy from the external factors. The more diversified our economy, the better for us to defend our economy from external challenges.

Q: What can we expect from the 2017 Budget? Will there be any goodies in store for the rakyat? Any surprises?
A: It’s a bit too early for me to share about the budget because right now we are in the process of engaging with a lot of stakeholders. We have a focus group meeting with different stakeholders. I think, all together there are about 20 focus groups — the cost of living, housing, financial sector and many more sectors. Once we get this feedback from the focus group, we consolidate and then compare with our estimate of government revenue. When it comes to budget, you have to look at government revenue and how much we can spend. However, what I need to stress is that, the action that we want to do or the strategy that we are going to adopt in the budget will always be in line with our 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP). Because 11MP is actually the five-year plan that we have presented to Parliament and the budget is basically a yearly executing plan that we need to take to achieve that long-term plan. So that would be the centre stage of our budget preparation.

Q: So, revenue is the key thing?
A: That is the key thing. You see today we are spending RM50 billion on development expenditure. We are spending on education, health, defence, building schools, roads and all the infrastructure for that RM50 billion. But this RM50 billion, if you want to spend, it’s just like how you want to buy a car or a house, you must look at how much is your income. If your income is RM5,000 you can’t buy a bungalow, a BMW or a Mercedes, right? This is where you need to manage. You need to look at where is your source of income and then analyse what are your commitments. If you have 10 projects that you want to do, then you have to prioritise which one you want to do first. We want to do all but because of the constraint in our resources, then we have to decide which one is the priority. We always want to see something that can give impact to the rakyat and stimulate the economy. These are the key things that we are looking at. That is the part I’m looking at in terms of our budget. And I’m sure our PM (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak) also will have something in his mind for the rakyat. But, whatever it is, we must make sure that we keep the social security net intact so that every people can live and stay in Malaysia and they can progress together with the country.

Q: How do you foresee the oil price performance in the second half of this year?
A: The oil price is currently at US$48 to US$50 per barrel and I’m only comfortable if it is between US$55 and US$60 per barrel in the second half of this year. During the recalibrated budget early this year, it was US$30-US$35 per barrel. When we prepared our budget last time it was US$48 per barrel. So now we are US$50 per barrel. Whatever the price level now, you will see the impact in the next six months. Q: What would you like to see, going forward? A: Assuming that we are comfortable with US$55 and US$60 per barrel, we must have a policy in the government, where the moment oil price shoots up to US$70, US$80, US$90 or US$100, we must continue spending our money based on the US$55 or US$60 per barrel level. Anything more, we must take that extra amount and keep it in our reserve. We must create a reserve under whatever circumstances. You must keep that spending up to that US$50 per barrel level. So, assuming our oil price goes back to US$80, US$90, US$100, anything extra from the US$55 or US$60, we keep it at the side. We build a reserve fund for the country. We want to be a country like Saudi Arabia. When they face huge deficit due to drop in oil prices, they tap their foreign reserve, which is currently at about US$600 billion to US$700 billion. Some of the countries like Kuwait and Qatar, if I’m not mistaken, they, too, have a huge reserve amounting to US$300 billion or US$400 billion from oil revenue reserve that they keep. So we need to start building that.

Q: Is the government’s Bumiputera Agenda being met? As chairman of UDA previously, what were the key challenges you saw and have they been resolved today?
A: We want to help Bumiputeras that really can grow. We do not want Bumiputeras whom we help for 10 to 20 years but (still) don’t grow. They don’t build the capacity. They engage with activity that simply use a sub mentality. That, I think, we need to put in check. We need a genuine Bumiputeras that can fight out there, not only to get government business but (also) to get business out there and become a regional player. We signed the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) agreement and we are going to finalise RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership). We have signed a lot of trade agreements with other countries.

Moving forward, we want to continue to help the Bumiputeras but we want to make sure that the Bumiputeras can also reciprocate in terms of embracing the competition culture. Be prepared to be competitive and able to build capacity. We must allow Bumiputeras to compete among themselves based on merit. The one that can build more capacity, capabilities and talents, they will get more. We want Bumiputeras who can excel and perform better among themselves to get what they deserve.

For those who have capacity of only 10 per cent, they will get only 10 per cent. They cannot get 50 per cent. In the past we don’t check this. If you give the Bumiputeras that have 10 per cent of the capacity 20 per cent, it ends up that the balance 10 per cent goes somewhere else through the sub system. If they have 20 per cent and you give them 50 per cent, then the 30 per cent goes somewhere else. There is another group of Bumiputeras who have capacity of 70 per cent, but they only get 30 per cent. So they have ample capacity but not given a chance to utilise their capacity. That’s how we want to look at it, going forward. The final analysis is that all Bumiputeras must prepare to be competitive and compete out there and not relying on the government to help them forever.

Q: It is not the number but the quality, right?
A: Yes. It is important to have quality. I give you an example. You have one person like Syed Mokhtar (Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary). Because he is so successful, he employs 140,000 people and then those industries that work within the companies that he owns employ another 200,000 people. So, Syed Mokhtar employs directly 140,000 people and indirectly 200,000 people. Syed Mokhtar has also appointed 28 Bumiputera CEOs (chief executive officer). So I’m sure everyone will be very happy to see that at the end of the day we have a company that can genuinely really contribute to the economy and GDP growth of the country. We can also have more SMEs (small and medium enterprises).

Q: Moving forward, what are the plans for Bumiputera SMEs?
A: Our forecast in the next five years under 11MP is that by 2020, we want to try to increase the SME contribution to the GDP from 36.5 per cent to 41 per cent. There are also SMEs owned by Bumiputeras. We have to make sure that we choose the right Bumiputeras to help and grow them. I want to see that one day, without the Bumiputera privilege, they can survive on their own.

Q: There is one concern that has been raised — that government-linked companies (GLCs) stand to crowd out the Bumiputeras. Is that a valid concern?
A: Not really. This is a statement without real evidence. I give you an example. TNB (Tenaga Nasional Bhd) doesn’t compete with Bumiputeras. In fact, they allocate for those companies to participate in their Bumiputera vendor programme. Likewise, you look at PLUS Expressway. They don’t compete with Bumiputeras. You look at PR1MA (1Malaysia People’s Housing Programme), SPNB (Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd) and UDA Holdings, they don’t compete with another Bumiputera company. They are there for strategic reasons. They go into strategic areas and locations that they feel the Bumiputera are not capable of playing that part.

Sometimes, you also have to be fair to some of these GLCs. They have to go into some of these industries simply because they don’t have credible Bumiputeras that can fully support them. So, therefore, they build their own and they still accommodate Bumiputeras. If there are any clear-cut case where they compete I am willing to intervene.

Rent-to-own concept to help low-income group buy houses

By A Jalil Hamid and Sharen Kaur
Published in NST, July 16, 2016

KUALA LUMPUR: The Finance Ministry is recommending the rent-to-own concept to help first-time home buyers with low income to own a property.

Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Ghani said the concept could be a very effective way for those with low income and who do not have enough cash for a down payment to buy a house.

“I am looking at this category, where people earning RM2,500 and below should be able to afford monthly rental of up to RM800 as an installment for a house without paying any down payment.

“When their income level rises, they can make a decision to buy the property. For example, when their salary increases to RM6,000 a month, they can pay RM2,000 as installment. Every time their salary is raised they pay more. If they decide to buy the house, then the installment would be different.
“Even though they have rented the property for 10 to 15 years, when they decide to buy they only have to pay the balance sum for the remaining balance at the price to be determined at later years,” he said in an interview.

Johari hoped the federal and state governments as well as other authorities would allocate land to build houses for the group.

“Everyone has to play their role, including state governments. They must make sure they reserve certain percentage of the land they own for this purpose. The rest can be used for commercial development or residential projects targeting middle- or high-income earners,” he said.

Johari said a certain percentage of land must be gazetted and allocated for the lower-income group.

“Once the land is allocated for this purpose, the government will come in and build the houses. We don’t have to talk about the value of the land because we do this for social agenda. I hope all the parties will play a role to make this a reality,” he added.

GST helps combat 'untraceable' activities

By A Jalil Hamid and Sharen Kaur
Published in NST, July 16, 2016


PUTRAJAYA: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) will help combat previously untraceable economic activities and give more revenue to the government to be used for infrastructure projects that can benefit the rakyat.

Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani said the six per cent GST implemented from April 1 last year was an efficient tax system that could reduce the country’s “black economy”.



‘Black economy’ refers to untraceable and non-taxable legitimate business transactions. That is where now a big chunk of the GST revenue comes from,” he said in an exclusive interview recently.

The 52-year-old chartered accountant by training and a former corporate figure said it was not true to say that the government’s additional collection from GST was at the expense of the rakyat.

“If people say that we collect additional tax from the rakyat, the answer is ‘no’. You must analyse the figures.

The imported goods in this country are a lot. For most of these goods, the government is supposed to collect SST (Sales and Services Tax), but it was not reported to us (in the past),” Johari said.

He said the tax collection for the import of goods had increased by more than 150 per cent because in the past many businesses did not pay their SST.

Now, they have no choice but to pay the GST. “When we implemented GST, firms that imported goods started to declare their taxes.

They can’t avoid paying GST because the system will also allow them to claim input tax. If they don’t pay, it’s just a matter of time before we trace them,” he said.

Under the GST, only traders with proper sales and purchase records are eligible to get their input claim.

This will create a level playing field for all firms and industries, which will also spur healthy competition, he said.

“Previously with the SST, it was difficult to check on them, but now, with the GST system, there is cross- checking among the manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers.

So, chances for them to avoid paying the GST is difficult. At every level, we can cross-check. “In the long term, it will be good for the country.

For the traders, at the end of the day, they have to compete among themselves without anyone having advantage for not paying tax.

We need healthy competition. If you are not competitive... customers will not buy from you. This disparity in prices will adjust naturally over time,” said Johari, who assumed office on June 28.

He said the GST and Malaysia’s well-diversified economy would help strengthen the country against external factors that could affect its growth trajectory. “I know the next two years are not going to be easy.

But I think that if we can be very focused on some of these industries, and with our currency now at RM4 to US$1, I’m sure we can attract a lot of customers that can buy our products, encourage our export and tourism, and boost our value-added services industry as well as manufacturing.” Johari also said Malaysia today was spending more than RM50 billion on education, health, defence and security.

Johari stresses adherence to principles of good corporate governance

By Sharen Kaur
Published in NST, July 15

NEWLY minted Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani is resolute in ensuring that the business and affairs of all companies under Minister of Finance Inc (MOF Inc) are in strict adherence to the principles of good corporate governance.

The principles include integrity, transparency, accountability and responsible business conduct.



“Corporate across the board, not just MOF Inc companies, have to be mindful of the three important elements that make a business successful. “They are having a sustainable business model, and good management and corporate governance. Without either one, a business will fail. Once you have the three elements, profit will come naturally,” said Johari, adding that he enjoyed working with people who were committed and focused on their work.

Johari, having been in office for only 19 days, has already tasked a team with reviewing all companies under MOF Inc to ensure that they remain focused on their respective fields.

Born in Kampung Pandan, Kuala Lumpur, in 1964, Johari obtained a diploma in Accounting from Institut Teknologi Mara in Shah Alam in 1985 and furthered his studies in the United Kingdom.

The fellow-certified chartered accountant started his career as an auditor with Peat Marwick & Co (now known as KPMG).

He has held directorship positions in local public-listed companies, including as chairman of UDA Holdings and group managing director of CI Holdings Bhd (from November 2002 to July last year).

He has more than 23 years of cumulative experience in the corporate scene, having also served as group managing director of KFC Holdings Malaysia Bhd and QSR Brands Bhd.

Johari, 52, had been vocal about the government providing affordable homes for the middle- and low-income groups in Kuala Lumpur when he was a backbencher.

He said despite his busy schedule, he made time for golf as it was one of his favourite sports.

  /ends

'No denying external factors are beyond us'

By A Jalil Hamid and Sharen Kaur
Published in NST, July 15, 2016


The following are excerpts from the New Straits Times’ exclusive interview with Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani.

Q: What are the macroeconomics of the country? Where are we now in terms of revenue and GDP (gross domestic product) growth?
A: Basically, when we look at our macroeconomics, let’s look back at the last two years. In 2014, our GDP growth was about six per cent and last year, it was about five per cent. For this year, at the time we prepared the budget, we forecast four to 4.5 per cent. If you look at today, as far as the global economy is concerned, I think Malaysia is facing a lot of external issues that are beyond its control.
First, look at the last 1½ years. We have lost RM30 billion in revenue from the oil industry. This is a result of the drop in oil prices, from US$115 (RM452) per barrel to US$30 per barrel. Certainly, it would affect the government’s ability to spend money. We have to cut expenditure in many ministries to make sure that we maintain our fiscal deficit.

Our fiscal deficit last year was 3.2 per cent and for this year, we are targeting 3.1 per cent. A lot of people ask me, why are we so concerned about fiscal deficit? It is important for us to manage fiscal deficit because if we don’t, it will affect our sovereign rating. Today, we are A-, but assuming our rating drops to triple B, then our interest cost will be higher. When interest cost is higher, the cost of doing business is higher.


Ultimately, the people will suffer because if we look at our household debt, we are among the highest in the world. We are close to 89 per cent to GDP. What is household debt? Housing loan, car loan, credit card loan, personal loan, investment loan. So, if the interest increases, all these people will be affected because they will have to pay more interest.

Second, we are also facing issues in terms of the global economy. The IMF (International Monetary Fund) and World Bank have forecast a drop in global growth for this year. In particular, if you look at China, it is one of the important markets, the second-largest economy in the world after the United States. China is very important to us because it contributes approximately 15 per cent of our trade in the world. So, if anything happens to China, we will also get affected.

For example, China’s growth used to be at seven to eight per cent, and suddenly, it is now down to six per cent — and even that is uncertain. This has also created uncertainty in terms of the external factor, as far as the global market is concerned, because China is not only dealing with us. It does a lot of trade with a lot of Asian countries and also the world. And, these Asian countries also trade with us. If they are affected economically, it will also affect us.

We used to see the ringgit against the US dollar at 3.20 or 3.30, and suddenly, it shot up to 4.47 against the US dollar. Certainly, a lot of companies in Malaysia, especially the ones involved in manufacturing that rely on imported goods as part of their raw materials, suddenly have to pay 30 to 40 per cent extra. This has also caused a lot of issues in the economy.

The other issue that recently cropped up was Brexit in Europe. Out of the 28 countries (in the European Union), the United Kingdom represents about 10 per cent of our trade. If it has issues about uncertainty in Europe, certainly, that will affect our 10 per cent trade. You know how world economies work — they don’t like uncertainty. With uncertainty, a lot of people start to hold back on their investments. These are all the issues that we face at the moment.

A lot of people ask me, how are you going to address this? There are only a few things that we can address internally and domestically. External factors are beyond us. We cannot deny this. A lot of people are trying to convince the people, telling them that we are okay, and whatever happened to China or Brexit, we have no problem. But, the reality is that it will affect us. Because we are an open economy, anything that happens in the world will affect us.

Domestically, what we are looking at is, how do we manage our debt? Today, our debt is 54.5 per cent of our GDP. Is that high, low or reasonable? We have to compare ourselves with other countries. If you look at Japan, I think its debt to GDP is almost exceeding 200 per cent. The US is about 120 per cent of GDP. Singapore is 89 per cent of GDP.

Even though they are high, their ability to service their debts is good. It doesn’t mean that if we are at 54.5 per cent, we are good.

The issue here, I think, is that we must continue to put in check our debt situation so that we are always in a position to match our ability to pay.

Q: How is Malaysia doing now?
A: At the moment, I think Malaysia is doing okay. We have never defaulted on our loan. Any loan that we take, we invest back into our economy. We build our infrastructure, highways, airports and ports. Right now, we are aggressively expanding our public transport, such as the MRT (mass rapid transit) and LRT (light rail transit).

Next week, our prime minister will sign an MoU (memorandum of understanding) with the Singapore government to launch the high-speed rail project. These are the loans that we have taken to finance our infrastructure. We also borrow money to get our sewerage and water systems, and to consolidate all that.

But, we need to put a check on this. We have seen a lot of countries, like Greece, for example, where, because they did not manage their debts properly, they are affected. This is something we really need to look at.

Q: Inflation-wise?
A: Inflation-wise, we are also doing okay. We are still at about two to three per cent. We need inflation, but we must manage it. If we don’t have inflation, it’s not good for the country. We need a manageable inflation, but it is just that last year, there was a spike in our inflation because we implemented the GST (Goods and Services Tax). But, I think it is manageable.

Q: What is your view on 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Bhd)?
A: 1MDB is a company that started with a very noble idea, basically, to use the company to leverage against our ability to borrow money, and to do something that an ordinary company cannot do, which is to develop a huge asset like Bandar Malaysia and the Tun Razak Exchange, and to try to consolidate the energy sector. But unfortunately, along the way, things went wrong. I am quite pleased to see that the government was willing to come out openly, to allow the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to do a report and allow people like me to study the report.

Q: What conclusion did you make on the report?
A: There are three points. First, the business model for 1MDB was wrong. The business model was not sustainable because you are borrowing money and, at the same time, you have to service the interest and principal, but you don’t have the revenue or a positive cash flow from the business to basically help you pay that commitment. Most of the projects are long-term in nature, while the interest and principal payment is short-term in nature. So, the business model was wrong and not sustainable.

Second, based on what PAC outlined in the report, they (1MDB) had weak management. If there had been good and efficient management, I don’t think 1MDB would reach this level.

Lastly, we are looking at the corporate governance part of it. This was also lacking in 1MDB. At the end of the day, for any company, for that matter — I am not only saying 1MDB, but any company, be it a listed or non-listed company — if they don’t have either one of these three factors — a sustainable business model, and good management and corporate governance — they will also go. If they have good management and corporate governance, but not a sustainable business model, they will also go. So, this is very important.

Q: What’s next for 1MDB?
A: As far as 1MDB is concerned, we want to run off the company.

Q: What do you mean by “run off”?
A: That means we will take out all assets from 1MDB and team up with the private sector to develop Bandar Malaysia and TRX. For example, recently, we signed agreements with Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Bhd and China Railway Engineering Corp. We can expect the GDV (gross development value) to go as high as RM50 billion to RM60 billion.

Yes, we do have the expertise, but global companies are in this line of business and can pull investors to Bandar Malaysia and TRX. This is the reason we decided to give them the incentive.

Q: How will TRX be developed?
A: For TRX, we will take the asset out from 1MDB. We have applied two strategies for TRX. First, we sell our land and let builders develop it. Second, we form joint ventures, like what we did with Land Lease from Australia. Here is where we give our land and they give us their expertise. They will bring in the capital, and we build. We will start focusing on how we want to intensify our work with Land Lease. Mulia Group is developing on their own, where they buy our land and build.

Q: What happens to 1MDB’s debts?
A: 1MDB will eventually be run off and, hopefully, all those assets that we take, we can maximise their value. And, when the time comes to pay their debts, we can use this value that we have created and pay off their debts. To what extent will we be able to cover all their debts? Only time will tell. We need to go through this process first.

Q: What will happen to the other parcels of land owned by 1MDB?
A: In Westport, we have decided to sell the land. In Penang, we have about 260 acres there. We have invited the RFP (request for proposal). We have shortlisted the candidates and we are going to work with them where they will develop the land.

Our criteria is that, whoever that we partner with must be able to manage and work closely with the Penang government. That is the reality and we have to accept that fact because the Penang government is not part of Barisan Nasional. So, whoever wants to partner with us must be able to work with the state government and fulfil its requirements.

Q: What is your aim for government-linked companies?
A: I want to start looking into all MOF Inc (Minister of Finance Inc) companies. We need to reanalyse all the 45 companies that we have and segmentise them by sectors. These are companies involved in property, plantation, financial services, manufacturing and so many other industries.

We need to reanalyse and group them so that we can look, in detail, whether there are duplications in terms of their roles. We will then split the companies into three categories.

Q: What are those categories?
A: The first category is, companies that make money and consistently declare dividends to the government. We want to look at how we can enhance them and help them grow further.

The second category is, companies that continuously lose money, increase their debts and don’t give benefits to the government. We will reanalyse them. If we can put them back on track, then we put them on track. Otherwise, we will close them.

The third category is, companies that we need to keep even though they are losing money. For example, a company that is involved in infrastructure development, like MRT Corp and Prasarana. These are companies that have a heavy burden in interest payment, and revenue is not enough to pay. The government has to subsidise them because it is the government’s job to provide good infrastructure for the people.
Other companies include those involved in sewerage and water. These are companies that we have to look into and refine their operations so that there is no wastage and there is good management. Even though we subsidise them, these companies are able to deliver very efficient services to the people, and the people receive the benefits.

Q: Are there many companies in the second category?
A: Well, I think there are, but the losses are not that big for some of them. They are manageable, but I think, at the same time, I also have to consider how many employees the companies employ. There are also some that provide financing in innovation and innovative industries. These kinds of companies are very difficult to close, even if they are not making much money.

For example, companies that provide venture capital are hard to close. Venture capital is not like a commercial bank or other financial institutions. Assuming we finance 100 companies under venture capital and 10 per cent are successful, and the 10 per cent create employment for 1,000 to 2,000 people; that is what we want. That’s what venture capital is all about.

Q: Are there possibilities of mergers and acquisitions?
A: Yes, especially among the good companies and smaller firms that make RM10 million to RM20 million in net profit a year. If we can merge them and make them regional players or list them and they become another Khazanah Nasional Bhd outfit, we want to do it.

Q: Will there be government guarantees involved for their expansion?
A: If they can bring in value, yes. Look at Khazanah. It is so successful. The government helped Khazanah with only about RM20 billion in government guarantee. But, with that RM20 billion, it has created more than RM150 billion in assets over the years. So, there is nothing wrong in giving a guarantee. Khazanah has the right business model, and that is why it has been able to give value to the government by creating RM150 billion worth of assets and employment.

Look at what Khazanah has today. It has CIMB, Tenaga, Telekom, Celcom, Axiata, MAS and many more. Some of the group’s companies have become regional champions, including CIMB and Axiata. Not to mention there are good domestic companies, like Plus Expressway under UEM Group Bhd.

Q: Of the 45 companies, are you considering selling some?
A: It is too early to tell, but I have engaged with a team to reanalyse this. We will shortlist a few companies, and look at how we want to manage them and how we want to KPI (key performance indicator) them. They cannot do whatever they want just because they are 100 per cent owned by the government. We want to put a KPI on all directors, chief executive officers and the management.

'Managing fiscal deficit key as it will impact the people'

By A Jalil Hamid and Sharen Kaur
Published in NST, July 15, 2016

Managing the country’s fiscal deficit is crucial because it will ultimately impact the people, said Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani.

“It is important for us to manage fiscal deficit because if we don’t, it will affect our sovereign rating. Today, we are A-, but assuming our rating drops to triple B, then our interest cost will be higher. When interest cost is higher, the cost of doing business is higher. Ultimately, the people will suffer because if we look at our household debt, we are among the highest in the world. We are close to 89 per cent to GDP (gross domestic product).”

Household debt includes housing, car, credit card, personal and investment loans.

“So, if the interest increases, all these people will be affected because they will have to pay more interest,” said Johari.


In an exclusive interview with the New Straits Times, the newly minted minister describes how Malaysia’s economy has been affected by external issues beyond its control, including the drop in oil prices, slowing global economy and uncertainty over China’s economic rebalancing.

Amid such global uncertainties, the government’s focus is on addressing internal and domestic economic issues, including fiscal deficit and debt.

Johari said Malaysia’s debt was at 54.5 per cent of GDP, compared with more than 200 per cent in Japan, 120 per cent in the United States and 89 per cent in Singapore.

“It doesn’t mean that if we are at 54.5 per cent, we are good. The issue here is that we must continue to put in check our debt situation so that we are always in a position to match our ability to pay.”

Johari, 52, said Malaysia was still in a good position because it had never defaulted on any loan. He added that debts taken on were utilised to invest in the economy.

“We build our infrastructure, highways, airports and ports. Right now, we are aggressively expanding our public transport, such as the MRT (mass rapid transit) and LRT (light rail transit). We also borrow money to get our sewerage and water systems, and to consolidate all that. But, we need to put a check on this. We have seen a lot of countries, like Greece, for example, where, because they did not manage their debts properly, they are affected. This is something we really need to look at.”

'MOF Inc firms to be grouped into 3 categories'

By A Jalil Hamid and Sharen Kaur
Published in NST, July 15, 2016

PUTRAJAYA: A thorough review of all 45 Minister of Finance Inc (MoF Inc) companies is on the cards. Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani said he had ordered a relook into the state of these companies by classifying them into three categories.

The 52-year-old chartered accountant by training and former corporate figure said the three categories were companies that were performing, those continuously losing money and those that MoF Inc needed to retain despite losing money.

“The learning that I have with my position here, I want to start looking into all 45 MOF Inc-owned companies. “We need to reanalyse them and segmentise them by sectors,” said Johari, who assumed office on June 28.

He said the companies were involved in property, plantation, financial services, manufacturing and many other industries.

“We need to group them so that we can look, in detail, whether there are duplication in terms of their roles,” he told the New Straits Times.



He said the first category would comprise companies that were making money and consistently declared dividends to the government.

 “We want to look at how we can enhance them and help them grow further. The second category is, companies that continuously lose money, increase their debts and don’t give benefits to the government. We will reanalyse them. If we can put them back on track, then we put them on track.
Otherwise, we will close them.”

Johari said the third category would comprise companies that MOF Inc needed to keep despite them making losses.

They included companies involved in infrastructure development, like MRT Corp Sdn Bhd and Prasarana Malaysia Bhd, he said.

“These are companies that have a heavy burden in interest payment, and revenue is not enough to pay.

“The government has to subsidise them because it is the government’s job to provide good infrastructure for the people. “Other companies are those involved in sewerage and water.

“These are companies that we have to look into and refine their operations so that there is no wastage and there is good management.

“Even though we subsidise them, these companies are able to deliver very efficient services to the people, and the people receive the benefits.”

Born and raised in Kampung Pandan, Kuala Lumpur, Johari, who is also Titiwangsa member of parliament, is no stranger to the business world.

He started his career as an auditor with Peat Marwick & Co (now known as KPMG) and has held key positions in local public-listed companies, including as chairman of UDA Holdings Bhd and group managing director of CI Holdings Bhd.

He said MoF Inc also owned a number of development financial institutions.

They include SME bank, Agro Bank, Exim Bank, Bank Pembangunan and Bank Simpanan Nasional.

“We want to know how they can work together in terms of cross-reference and cross-selling among themselves, so that if you have a customer in SME Bank who is not doing well, they cannot simply jump and apply for a loan at Agro Bank,” said Johari.

“These are basically all the things that we need to look at, so there should be the sharing of information.”

HSR MoU to be inked next week

By A Jalil Hamid and Sharen Kaur
Published in NST, July 14, 2016

PUTRAJAYA :  MALAYSIA and Singapore will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on July 19 to facilitate the development of the high-speed rail (HSR) project between the two capitals.
 
The signing, to be witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, marks an important milestone in bilateral ties and will pave the way for the development of the ambitious multi-billion-dollar project - Southeast Asia's first high-speed rail link.
 
Diplomats and government sources said the MoU will be signed by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, who will represent Malaysia, and Singaporean Minister of Transport, Khaw Boon Wan.
 
The event will be held at Najib's official residence, Seri Perdana, in Putrajaya.
 
Others in attendance will include several ministers and diplomats from the two capitals, as well as key people from MyHSR Corp Sdn Bhd and the Land Public Transport Commission.
 
Najib said in his opening remarks before a closed-door session with nearly 30 top United Kingdom fund managers in London in May that the MoU was targeted to be signed this month.
 
He dubbed the HSR project a huge game changer that had "aroused a lot of excitement worldwide".
 
According to sources, the signing of the MoU will pave the way for detailed negotiation of the main agreement, or bilateral agreement, which is expected to be signed by the end of this year.
 
The final negotiations will be centred on the planning, development and execution of the HSR link between the two countries and operations, the sources said.
 
"If you look at the 80/20 rule, even though in terms of content, the MoU is 20 per cent of the overall agreement, it represents all the key variables that need to be agreed upon within the two countries.
 
"So it is a major milestone in terms of getting all the basic grand rules that will set the future direction of the HSR project."
 
The HSR project was announced during the Malaysia-Singapore leaders retreat here in February 2013, but no cost estimation was given.
 
Business Times had reported that work on the HSR project might start in early 2018 at a likely cost of RM60 billion to RM65 billion.
 
This was based on the current estimated cost of US$10 million (RM3.9 million) per kilometre for the systems and tracks.
 
The civil infrastructure work is expected to cost three times more than that.
 
The HSR line involves a total of 350km, which will begin in Bandar Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, and end at Jurong East in Singapore.
 
It will include a double-track on a standard gauge powered by high-speed technologies.
 
The HSR will have seven stops, a terminus each in Bandar Malaysia and Jurong East, and five transit stations in Seremban in Negri Sembilan, Ayer Keroh in Malacca and Muar, Batu Pahat and Iskandar Puteri in Johor.
 
At least 60 four-car trains worth around RM5 billion are required to serve the line.
 
The trains will run at a speed of more than 300kph.
 
Completion of the project is slated for 2027 and would cut travelling time from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore to 1 1/2 hours.

   /ends