Last month I blogged, here, about a worsening ownership battle for a planned Malaysian ship bunkering facility, the Asia Petroleum Hub, on a reclaimed island in Johor to rival Singapore’s which is threatening to derail the project and could hurt CIMB, one of the country’s largest commercial banks.The project leader, KIC Oil and Gas, has drawn nearly half of its RM1.4 billion financing facility from CIMB to fund construction work. But it has failed to resolve problems with another key shareholder Seaport Terminal and this has prompted CIMB to consider suspending further funding for the construction.
Among the questions which arose then was why was the funding released by CIMB before the ownership problems are resolved. Adding to the mystery is an affidavit filed a few years ago in Singapore, here, in a suit between KIC and an ex-employee that the salary offered by KIC was only for "budgetary" purposes in a "dummy" contract which was used for the purpose of obtaining loans.
Meanwhile, The Malaysian Insider has today reported, here, that CIMB has asked its 36,000 employees to consider taking up to 6 months of no-pay leave as it aims to cut costs in the economic slowdown, the first major Malaysian company to do so. However, Group CEO Nazir Razak (photo) has said there was no set target on the number of employees accepting the offer and denied the company was cutting staff.
If we are looking at yet another bailout again, Nazir certainly has nothing to worry about. After all, big brother is going to be the country's numero uno.
These people never learn. Thank God two of my children who were with CIMB have already left the bank.
Both the DPFM Mamak Robokop F$6 billion Forexloosecannon and FM Rosemajib were bragging late last year that our banks are in superb position, a view endorsed by Bank Negara that Syariah Banking had saved our bacon!
ReplyDeleteYet the share prices of Maybank, CIMB and Public Bank who have all ventured into overseas investments in the last two years, have dropped by 30% - 50% in the last year. Does the market know something our politicians and BNM do not?
In particular, there is a huge question mark over Maybank and its $8 billion splash out in Indonesia where both Corporate Bigwigs, DFM & FM defied BNM's advise not to invest in what was by any reckoning an over the top valuation? No one is telling us who brokered the deal and how many $ millions the illegal Commission amounted to!
Based on this, I think we can safely predict that Maybank will post a huge $ billion
'dimunition in value' write down in its results soon, that it's share price will dip below $3 as will CIMB with its Indon bank and dodgy financing in KIC and elsewhere.
Foreign analysts also downgraded in Feb/Mch this year Public Bank as a counter that is trading at an unreasonable premium to its superior competitors like DBS, UOB and OCBC in S'pore & others in Asia.
The writing is on the wall. Our finance Minister & Ministry, BNM, the SC and KLSE should not pretend that all's ok on the Esatern Front and that we will be isolated from the Global Downturn by some miracle. This state of deial they live in is dangerous for us and the Economy!
Captain. You gave the best reason to keep money in CIMB. Govt bail out in case anything happen. Numero Uno must keep little brother afloat.
ReplyDeleteI still have some cash in CIMB and I am going to get them out pretty soon and put them somewhere else. Abang-adik combo boleh kasi pukulan maut to the ekonomi woh.
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