PNB denies receiving proposal from Syed Mokhtar

KUALA LUMPUR: Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) president and CEO Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman has denied receiving an unsolicited proposal from Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary for a substantial stake in SP Setia Bhd.
"I have not received anything, so I cannot comment on that," Hamad told reporters at Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd's (ASNB) announcement of income distribution rates for three Amanah Saham Gemilang (ASG) funds yesterday.
He also declined to share PNB's plans for SP Setia, where it has 64.08% stake, except to say that all affairs concerning the property developer will be discussed at board level. He said as shareholders, it was important for PNB to consider whether a situation was good for PNB or not.
Last Saturday, a financial weekly reported that Syed Mokhtar has put in an unsolicited proposal to buy a substantial portion of PNB's stake in SP Setia.
According to the report, the tycoon proposed that SP Setia's former president and CEO Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin will remain in the company and be his partner in making the bid.
"Syed Mokhtar is said to have received the blessing of the top level of government to talk to PNB, but he is likely to face headwinds," the report said.
The weekly said PNB's hefty asking price of RM5 per share for the shares it holds in SP Setia shows that it is not keen to reduce its stake in SP Setia or allow Syed Mokhtar to drive the company, as it has its own plans.
On Jan 20, 2014, SP Setia was given notice of the resignations of Liew, chief financial officer Datuk Teow Leong Seng and non-independent, non-executive director Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye. Liew will leave on April 30 while Teow's last day will be July 31.
Last Friday, SP Setia announced that Liew exercised his put option to sell 67.79 million shares equivalent to his remaining 2.76% stake in the company to PNB. The put option was part of a management agreement between Liew and PNB to buy the shares at RM3.95 each.
Liew's departure and selling off of his shares in SP Setia point towards his disinterest in being part of Syed Mokhtar's deal. In addition, talk has been rife that he will join his son Liew Tian Xiong at Eco World Development Group Bhd.
SP Setia is due to be helmed by deputy president and COO Datuk Voon Tin Yow following the departure of Liew.
SP Setia chairman Tun Zaki Tun Azmi told reporters after the group's AGM last Thursday that PNB still has not endorsed the appointment of Voon as acting CEO. He said Voon will be discussing with PNB about the future of the company but did not give a timeline for the meeting.
PNB is yet to publicly endorse the succession plan that Liew set in place in March 2013. During the announcement of Liew's resignation, the board of SP Setia said it intends to actively seek the views of PNB before formal terms and conditions of appointment are agreed and finalised with the identified successors.
Although PNB has remained mum on its plans for the property developer, it is widely speculated that it will inject all its property assets into SP Setia including projects held under Sime Darby Bh and I&P Group Sdn Bhd.
Meanwhile, ASNB announced income distribution rates for three funds namely ASG-Pendidikan, ASG-Kesihatan and ASG-Persaraan for the financial year ended March 31, 2014, yesterday.
Unit holders of ASG-Pendidikan will receive income distribution of 7.10 sen per unit, ASG-Kesihatan will receive 7.20 sen per unit and ASG-Persaraan will receive 7.05 sen per unit. ASNB has allocated a total payment of RM12.14 million for ASG-Pendidikan income distribution, RM13.29 million for ASG-Kesihatan and RM4.08 million for ASG-Persaraan.