Felda to sell several properties in London

JOHOR BARU: The Felda board has agreed to sell several properties that it owns in London, said its chairman Tan Sri Shahrir Abd Samad.
He said based on the financial report presented to the board last Monday, Felda will make a profitable gain for the sales of its London assets due to the favourable exchange rate.
He added that will also make a healthy profit as the value of the assets have gone up.
He said for the London asset liquidation will be done via open tender and a valuation company has been appointed to conduct the valuation.
He said after the completion of the tender, the board will decide on the best deal for Felda.
Felda had bought a hotel in in Bayswater, London, for £98 million (RM543 million) in 2014.
Shahrir said what is important now is for Felda to tidy up its existing investments and make as much from it as possible.
"Felda had no appetite of making new investments at the moment, but it will focus on consolidating existing assets," he told reporters after a BR1M handing over ceremony in Taman Sri Stulang, Johor Baru.
Shahrir had said Felda had sold it's shares in Maybank for RM280 million and that it is also looking at its other assets such as its hotels, and would closely study its investments in Encorp Bhd and Iris Corp Bhd.
Felda also owns shares in plantation firms Felda Global Ventures Berhad, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Sime Darby, among others.
Shahrir said Felda was selling off its assets to sustain socio-economic activities for its settlers.
He said rectifying legacy issues, monetising assets and achieving returns from new ventures are the key responsibilities he faces.
He said at the same time, it is undertaking a massive international corporate exercise with the proposed purchase of a 37% stake in Indonesia's PT Eagle High Plantations Tbk (EHP) in an RM2.26 billion deal.