PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad has not been bought over by foreign companies, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, during the prime minister’s question time in the Dewan Rakyat.
He said the deal between MAHB and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) through the MAHB consortium has caused the increase in ownership by Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Employee Provident Fund’s (EPF) to 70% from 41%.
Anwar also said that the MAHB’s sale to foreign companies was “not an issue”, as quoted, as the matter at hand was not brought up.
He then asserted that the foreign companies who own 27% of MAHB are GIP and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia).
Anwar added that 70% of MAHB would be owned by Malaysian investors while Adia and GIP hold the remaining 30%.
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“Is there any sale involving the airports? No. This exercise only involves management. MAHB is the company that manages the airports, (and) the airports remain the property of the Malaysian government.
“This is similar to how MAHB was permitted by the Turkish government to manage Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport where we were given the rights to manage, but ownership remains with the Turkish government,“ he was quoted as saying.
Besides that, Anwar also assured that Malaysians will still hold the important management positions such as MAHB Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and chairman.
He added that Khazanah only selected five companies out of the 145 that participated in the MAHB takeover consortium, deeming them suitable, also mentioning that Khazanah agreed to Malaysian citizens holding the CEO and chairman positions.
Meanwhile, GIP was chosen as other companies wanted “management rights,” as quoted.
In May, Khazanah reportedly announced that it was leading the Gateway Development Alliance (GDA) consortium to acquire all MAHB shares it did not own through a pre-conditional voluntary offer.
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GDA’s shareholders include the Employer’s Provident Fund (EPF) along with GIP, GIP Aureus Pte Ltd and Adia but many were concerned about GIP being acquired by American asset management company BlackRock, with alleged pro-Israeli links.
GIP’s acquisition by the American firm was reportedly expected to be settled within this year’s third quarter.
However, GIP assured that BlackRock was not involved in MAHB’s privatisation through GDA.
