Arul: 1MDB has no short-term debts

IPOH: 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) has no short-term debts but only long-term liabilities of some RM31bil that would be repaid according to schedule, its chief executive officer Arul Kanda Kandsamy said.

He said the investment fund had assets of RM43bil that was more than enough to cover the debts.

“There are no more short-term debts, only the long-term ones, which is normal.

“1MDB assets are worth RM43bil and will only continue to grow. It is more than the debts,” he said in a Bicara Negara talk here.

Arul Kanda said that 1MDB has managed to bring down its debts through rationalisation efforts and selling its assets, including Edra Global Energy Sdn Bhd power company.

He said the sale of Edra Global Energy had cut down its debts by RM17bil.

“There’s still the development and selling of real estate at Tun Razak Exchange, Bandar Malaysia, Pulau Indah and Air Itam, which are all worth about RM19bil,” he said.

“We are also trying to do the settlement with International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), which will further cut the debt by RM14bil,” he added.

Arul Kanda said that 1MDB suffered because of weak management, poor corporate governance and the use of the wrong business model.

“Because of poor management, there were issues with cash flow. It’s a purely business issue that went wrong, so there’s no need to politicise it.

“The Government has taken the immediate steps to resolve the issues,” he said, adding that everything was stated in the report by the Public Accounts Committee.