The
NGO Persatuan Anak Peneroka Felda (Anak) has threatened mass protests
should Felda Global Ventures (FGV) stock price fall below the RM4 per
unit mark.
“If the share price drops below RM4, we shall organise a protest even bigger than Himpunan Oren,” said Anak president Mazlan Aliman today.
When asked, he told reporters that the goal of the rally is to pressure the government to mount a rescue package so stop the shares of the company from collapsing.
FGV shares were at RM4.90 per unit as of end of trading day yesterday, down from its RM5.50 peak in July.
Last Tuesday, it fell to a new post-IPO low of RM4.57 - just two sen above its issuing price of RM4.55 - before it went back up, likely due to heavy buying from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), which raised its stake in the company from 5.4 percent to 6.98 percent.
The Himpunan Oren protest on July 14 to oppose the FGV listing drew over 5,000 protesters.
Mazlan said he is taking cues from past financial disasters such as the Bumiputra Malaysia Finance (BMF) scandal in 1983, which eventually led to the government bailing out its parent company, Bank Bumiputra.
“If we don’t act early, then it could become too late,” he said, reiterating that it would be an indication that FGV “is at the gates of oblivion” if its share prices plunge below the RM4 threshold.
EPF props up shares
Mazlan, who is also the organiser of the Himpunan Oren rally, added that the current FGV stock price is being propped up solely by cash injections by EPF, which recently bought some two million shares.
He said EPF contributors should question the pension fund’s investment arm for investing in FGV.
“I agree that PAS worker’s bureau chairperson Anuar Tahir should lodge reports with the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on this issue,” he told the press conference at PAS’ headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
Mazlan also claimed that Felda settlers had been cheated by FGV when they applied for bank loans to finance their purchase of IPO (initial public offering) shares.
He said the settlers were offered 800 shares each for RM3,640, or RM4.55 per unit.
However, share financing documents from two banks disclosed by Mazlan indicated a significantly higher bank buying price of RM5,000 for Maybank and RM4,000 for CIMB Bank.
“So besides the RM3,640 lent to settlers (to buy the IPO shares), where did the rest of the money go?” he said.
He said he believes that the money was channelled directly to FGV, and if true, should be returned to settlers immediately.
Mazlan said a police report would be lodged on the matter soon.
Report lodged against Felda deputy DG
The Anak president also made good on his threats to expose alleged wrongdoings of Felda’s acting director-general Faizoull Ahmad by distributing copies of a police report to the journalists.
The report, lodged on Sept 17, lists seven allegations of abuses of power, including cheating Felda board members into spending RM2 million for a two-day seminar attended by a mere 152 participants from Felda and 200 from FGV.
He was also accused of appointing a disbanded company as an event manager without consulting Felda’s management, and approving funds for Majlis Belia Felda Malaysia (MBFM) for events that never took place.
Mazlan urged Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to reconsider Faizoull’s appointment as Felda director-general, which is slated for Oct 1.
He said he had more allegations to expose in the run-up to his appointment.
Anak had previously claimed Felda’s former director-general Dzulkifli Abd Wahab was sacked for opposing FGV’s listing on the stock market and Faizoull, as deputy director-general, is to be his successor.
Kelantan mulls legal action
Mazlan also mentioned at the press conference that Kelantan is mulling legal action to nullify FGV's lease (pajak) of Felda land still held by the state, while Selangor and Kedah governments are believed to be doing the same.
While some Felda settlers have their own land titles, others are governed by the Group Settlement Areas Act 1960, under which the state retains land ownership.
The Pakatan Rakyat-led states had previously pledged not to sign any deal with FGV to hand over the land, but Mazlan said it had been leased anyway under a deal that is renewable every three years.
"That means there must be a deal between Felda and FGV," he said, whilst the states had been left out of the loop.
"If the state government later wants to give the land to the settlers, then what? Do the settlers even know the land they occupy has been leased off?" he asked.
“If the share price drops below RM4, we shall organise a protest even bigger than Himpunan Oren,” said Anak president Mazlan Aliman today.
When asked, he told reporters that the goal of the rally is to pressure the government to mount a rescue package so stop the shares of the company from collapsing.
FGV shares were at RM4.90 per unit as of end of trading day yesterday, down from its RM5.50 peak in July.
Last Tuesday, it fell to a new post-IPO low of RM4.57 - just two sen above its issuing price of RM4.55 - before it went back up, likely due to heavy buying from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), which raised its stake in the company from 5.4 percent to 6.98 percent.
The Himpunan Oren protest on July 14 to oppose the FGV listing drew over 5,000 protesters.
Mazlan said he is taking cues from past financial disasters such as the Bumiputra Malaysia Finance (BMF) scandal in 1983, which eventually led to the government bailing out its parent company, Bank Bumiputra.
“If we don’t act early, then it could become too late,” he said, reiterating that it would be an indication that FGV “is at the gates of oblivion” if its share prices plunge below the RM4 threshold.
EPF props up shares
Mazlan, who is also the organiser of the Himpunan Oren rally, added that the current FGV stock price is being propped up solely by cash injections by EPF, which recently bought some two million shares.
He said EPF contributors should question the pension fund’s investment arm for investing in FGV.
“I agree that PAS worker’s bureau chairperson Anuar Tahir should lodge reports with the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on this issue,” he told the press conference at PAS’ headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
Mazlan also claimed that Felda settlers had been cheated by FGV when they applied for bank loans to finance their purchase of IPO (initial public offering) shares.
He said the settlers were offered 800 shares each for RM3,640, or RM4.55 per unit.
However, share financing documents from two banks disclosed by Mazlan indicated a significantly higher bank buying price of RM5,000 for Maybank and RM4,000 for CIMB Bank.
“So besides the RM3,640 lent to settlers (to buy the IPO shares), where did the rest of the money go?” he said.
He said he believes that the money was channelled directly to FGV, and if true, should be returned to settlers immediately.
Mazlan said a police report would be lodged on the matter soon.
Report lodged against Felda deputy DG
The Anak president also made good on his threats to expose alleged wrongdoings of Felda’s acting director-general Faizoull Ahmad by distributing copies of a police report to the journalists.
The report, lodged on Sept 17, lists seven allegations of abuses of power, including cheating Felda board members into spending RM2 million for a two-day seminar attended by a mere 152 participants from Felda and 200 from FGV.
He was also accused of appointing a disbanded company as an event manager without consulting Felda’s management, and approving funds for Majlis Belia Felda Malaysia (MBFM) for events that never took place.
Mazlan urged Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to reconsider Faizoull’s appointment as Felda director-general, which is slated for Oct 1.
He said he had more allegations to expose in the run-up to his appointment.
Anak had previously claimed Felda’s former director-general Dzulkifli Abd Wahab was sacked for opposing FGV’s listing on the stock market and Faizoull, as deputy director-general, is to be his successor.
Kelantan mulls legal action
Mazlan also mentioned at the press conference that Kelantan is mulling legal action to nullify FGV's lease (pajak) of Felda land still held by the state, while Selangor and Kedah governments are believed to be doing the same.
While some Felda settlers have their own land titles, others are governed by the Group Settlement Areas Act 1960, under which the state retains land ownership.
The Pakatan Rakyat-led states had previously pledged not to sign any deal with FGV to hand over the land, but Mazlan said it had been leased anyway under a deal that is renewable every three years.
"That means there must be a deal between Felda and FGV," he said, whilst the states had been left out of the loop.
"If the state government later wants to give the land to the settlers, then what? Do the settlers even know the land they occupy has been leased off?" he asked.
No comments:
Post a Comment