Torrential storm after the sunshine

Last week, delegates of Koperasi Permodalan FELDA (KPF) finally had the EGM after being postponed twice, to decide on the FELDA Global Ventures proposal to be part of the FELDA Global Ventures Holdings listing 0n 26 June 2012. 90% of them said ‘Aye’.

The detractors to Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak’s transformation agenda for the warga FELDA did several times used the courts, to torpedo efforts to get KPF EGM from approving FGV’s proposal of injecting FELDA Holdings Bhd’s group of companies into FGVH and in return, get 35% of the listed company holdings. Of course, Oppositions such as PAS Central Commmittee member Mazlan Aliman used Persatuan Anak Peneroka FELDA Kebangsaan (ANAK) to politicize the matter.

Streams of Police reports where made against FGV and even personalities like FELDA and FGV Chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abd Samad, the man Prime Minister Najib personally entrusted to be the representative of the Federal Government in the new FELDA.

Tomorrow, Securities Commission is expected to release the prospectus of the FGVH listing.

What to expect is that the FGVH prospectus will outline the promoters of the listed company. The anchor shareholders would be listed, as part of the confidence building for new and smaller institutional investors, on top of the usual IPO punters who would have the apply for the ‘forms’.

The ‘Thirteen Million Ringgit Plus” question is, will the single largest shareholder in FGVH IPO still be KPF?

Assets and companies under FHB, which is 51% owned by KPF is important to be injected into FGVH. However, the past eight months saw the direct and indirect ‘opposition’ from the KPF board, which includes the summary expulsion of Isa, FGV CEO Dato’ Sabri Ahmad, former FELDA Chairman Tan Sri Dr Yusof Nor and former FGV CEO Dato’ Seri Mohd Bakke Salleh on 28 Oct 2011.

The drama continues, there on.

After much stormy drama one after another and the failure of several plan processes, which include KPF EGM.

As the result of that, FGV saw that the ‘KPF track’ for the FGVH listing may not be a smooth one. After the failure of the planned 22 February 2012 KPF EGM in Kuala Lumpur, Isa announced that “Probably, we shall list FGVH via a ‘new model (different track)’”. “We would have an SPV in place of KPF, to undertake the interests of the FELDA settlers”, is what Isa said in the media conference on the hour that the KPF EGM failed.

Observers are started to place their bets that KPF would not be included in the tomorrow’s prospectus.

There are at least two out of three highly probable reasons. One, KPF was holding the whole scheme of things back. Original timeline of March/April 2012 FGVH listing as planned last September bust. Now, they have to move the goal post, already twice.

On top of that, it’s believed that BOD KPF forwarded a list of conditions, right after KPF delegates approved the original FGVH IPO plan during last week’s EGM. It is also been said 90% of these conditions are unable to be fulfilled or delivered, especially in the short run.

Recently, KPF’s investments in Silverbird attracted too much attention. The process of how KPF increased its investments within the last two years are questionable. On top of that, rumours circulating that Silverbird is under close MACC scrutiny.

So, probably the storm set in too soon after last week’s sunshine. And spring isn’t here yet. Things have to be planned properly. Most importantly, don’t get wiser after the event.

- bigdogdotcom