In The Edge FD: Public and private debt at unsustainable levels?
Chinese banks extend 800 bln yuan of new loans in Jan
Australia's Qantas grounds an Airbus A380 due to cracks
GW Plastics to expand export reach
In The Edge FD: Knusford to ride on interest on Lim Kang Hoo
In The Edge FD: EPMB to expand further in Indonesia
| PKA board to decide on disclosure of report |
| Written by Financial Daily | |||
| Thursday, 14 May 2009 10:30 | |||
|
PKA chairman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng said the board at its meeting about two weeks ago had in principal given its approval to release the report in full. However, the release of the report, which was due on May 6, was delayed when PwC requested for a letter of indeminity to protect itself from any third party suit that may arise following the report being made public. “The issue of the indeminity letter only came up after the board meeting,” said Lee when contacted by The Edge Financial Daily. He said he sent out a circular last week for the directors to sign but two have refused to do so which resulted in Lee calling for an emergency board meeting today after giving seven days’ notice. PKA board of directors comprised six persons presently. It needs a simple majority for decisions to be carried out. The directors are expected to question why should they issue the indeminity letter to PwC which was appointed by PKA last year to prepare a report on PKFZ. The PKFZ project caught the public’s attention two years ago after its cost balloned to the extent that PKA needed government support loan to service its bond obligations. The project, which involved building a transhipment hub with warehouses, hotels and office spaces, is said to have ballooned to more than RM10 billion from the initial RM2.3 billion. PKA had issued bonds to finance the project but the returns from the project was insufficient to cover the bond obligations, causing the government to extend to PKA a RM4.6 billion soft loan in 2007. Last year when Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat took office, he ordered PKA to commission an audit on PKFZ. The report was ready after six months and on April 29, Ong gave PKA a week to disclose the matter after getting approval from another ministry to de-classify some documents. This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, May 14, 2009.
|
|||