Misleading Results

The Malaysia Airlines 4Q results are misleading to say the least. While the results look positive, on closer examination, it shows that the 4Q net profit of RM50 million was largely attributed to forex gains and lower impairment charges.

Edmund 

The impending rights issues are a massive disservice to Malaysians who have throughout the years been called upon to bear the burden of the bailing out MAS to the tune of billions. That’s a whole load of schools, hospitals and better service delivery lost in opportunity costs.

This latest ‘corporate restructuring’ sees MAS requiring Khazanah Nasional to subscribe to the RM 3.1 billion rights issue. As the largest shareholder, Khazanah will be forking out a whopping amount of tax payers’ money to take up the offer. That’s our money, good money, being thrown after bad money again. This comes soon after Kumpulan Wang Persaraan, the nation’s pension fund, took up RM 1 billion of sukuk issued by MAS. We should remember that the bonds were not guaranteed and carried a 6 percent coupon rate. At those yields, one wonders why there wasn’t a long queue of foreign investors at the door.

We should not lose sight of the fact that both KHazanah and KWAP is the guardian of the Rakyat’s wealth. Whatever happened to reducing Government’s Role in Business (GRIB) that requires GLCs to divest stakes in companies once it hits a ‘trigger’ price. Khazanah’s entry price to MAS shares was approximately RM 3. Does it hope that MAS will surpass that mark in the near term before it divests at a profit?

Interesting that the under the ETP, a key focus NKEA is reducing Government’s Role In Business (GRIB). That’s why we had Khazanah divesting IHH in monster IPO and selling its stake in Proton and Pharmaniaga. Looks like all this will be wasted on MAS.

As right thinking Malaysians, I think we have has enough of the shenanigans in MAS over the past 10 years at the tax payers’ expense. Bottom-line is there is something not right with this rights issue.