1MDB board will handle payment due to IPIC: Johari

PUTRAJAYA: 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) will handle the payment due to International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC), said Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.

He said the payment, which fell due on July 31, 2017, was being handled at the 1MDB board level.

“Let them resolve this issue, this is company matter. If they say they will be able to pay, let’s wait for them to pay,” he told reporters after chairing the Budget 2018 Focus Group Meeting yesterday.

On whether whether public fund would be used should 1MDB seek government assistance, he said, 1MDB had not met with the Finance Ministry.

“You do not assist people when they do not come to see you. This should not be an issue at this moment because it is being handled at the board level,” he said.

1MDB, in a statement Tuesday, said it had written to IPIC to inform the Abu Dhabi-based company that the payment originally due on July 31, 2017, would be paid in August 2017 instead, as it was awaiting the necessary fund.

1MDB said all payment due to IPIC would be made from the proceeds of 1MDB’s rationalisation plan.

It was reported that 1MDB has been given five additional working days to make the payment, which was part of a settlement over a debt dispute, amounting to US$603 million (about RM2.58 billion). – Bernama