Malaysian PM Anwar orders sovereign fund audit on loss-making venture
Sign up now: Get insights on the biggest stories in Malaysia
PM Anwar Ibrahim said the internal audit 'doesn’t exclude' state-owned asset manager Permodalan Nasional Bhd and other parties involved.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
Follow topic:
PUTRAJAYA – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim ordered sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad to carry out an internal audit to investigate issues related to RM43.9 million (S$13 million) in investment losses.
This is to ensure all government-linked companies “fulfill the demands of their respective responsibilities and functions”, he said in a post on X on Nov 2. The internal audit “doesn’t exclude” state-owned asset manager Permodalan Nasional Bhd and other parties involved, he said in a follow-up post several hours later.
His directive comes days after the Finance Ministry said the two entities invested RM47 million in online fashion retailer FashionValet in 2018, and received an offer in late 2023 for their stakes. They eventually sold it for RM3.1 million – a loss that matches the amount Mr Anwar mentioned in his post.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said on Nov 2 it had opened an investigation paper on the issue of investment losses by Khazanah and PNB in a local online fashion business.
“The public is urged to allow space for the investigation to proceed and to avoid speculation or engage in ‘public trials’ against the parties involved,” MACC chief Azam Baki said in the statement.
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office said Mr Anwar’s post was in response to the MACC investigation.
Khazanah and PNB’s investment in FashionValet was aimed at supporting local tech entrepreneurs and digital retail firms, the Finance Ministry said in a written reply to parliamentary questions on Oct 28. The total loss from the sale is “very small” compared to the total income Khazanah and PNB generated that year, it added.
Khazanah in a statement on Nov 1 said FashionValet faced challenges exacerbated by Covid-19, and its divestment “represented a responsible exit” to transfer ownership to a party that could help guide the troubled company. NXBT Partners, which is “led by a seasoned Malaysian entrepreneur”, offered to buy existing shareholders’ stakes and inject capital into the firm, it added. BLOOMBERG
