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KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): The Federal Land Development Authority’s (FELDA) efforts to take over FGV Holdings Bhd and realise its recovery plan are in progress.
Former FGV chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Zakaria Arshad, who is also a shareholder of Koperasi Permodalan Felda Malaysia Bhd (KPF), said FELDA might negotiate with two other FGV shareholders, namely the Pahang and Sabah state governments which own 5% and 4% of FGV shares respectively.
Felda and KPF currently own 81% shareholdings in FGV.
“For the benefit of settlers, I believe both states will cooperate with FELDA, so that FELDA’s goal to privatise FGV, which is to increase FELDA’s income, will succeed.
“I believe the time is right for FELDA to take over FGV,” he told reporters when met at the Ramadan promotional launch of D’Saji.
Nevertheless, he said the failure to take over FGV was not the end of FELDA’s recovery plan as it already succeeded in increasing its shareholdings in FGV to at least 81% from 34%.
“That percentage is certainly not small but a huge leap. Maybe we failed a little but it’s not the end. I can see that efforts are still ongoing,” he said.
Earlier in his speech, FELDA chairman Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh slammed several media who reported that the government agency had failed in its bid to privatise the plantation company at RM1.30 per share.
He was previously reported as saying that the takeover of FGV by FELDA was an integral part of FELDA’s recovery plan approved by the government for the benefit of 112,638 settlers and its two million-member community.
FELDA’s attempt to take over FGV came as it planned to terminate its land lease agreement (LLA) with the latter involving 350,000 hectares of plantation land at RM248 million per annum plus 15% profit for a 99-year period.
