After loan from tycoon, how will 1MDB pay off other debts, asks PKR

PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli believes State investment vehicle 1Malaysia Development Berhad will have a challenging time ahead clearing debt it has raked up after borrowing billions from businessman T. Ananda Krishnan. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, January 31, 2015.

State investment vehicle 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) will have a tough time clearing debts it has raked up if it had to borrow billions from magnate T. Ananda Krishnan to pay up outstanding loans, says PKR.

Its secretary-general, Rafizi Ramli, said the firm faced cash-flow problems as it had to borrow from Ananda Krishnan to pay off its RM2 billion debts to Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and RHB Bank Bhd, which have been extended twice.

"This problem will become worse in 2015 because 1MDB has taken a few short-term loans to fulfil other debt commitments," he said in a statement today.

One of these loans is US$1 billion (RM3.6 billion) taken from a consortium of six banks led by Deutsche Bank as reported by capital markets magazine International Financing Review, he added.

Citing the report, Rafizi said the loan was due to be paid back by September this year.

"1MDB had taken this US$1 billion loan in October 2014, right when the debts of the controversial fund began gaining public attention," he said, adding that the value of the loan in ringgit was increasing as the Malaysian currency was on the decline against the US dollar.

Rafizi added that 1MDB took the loan and said it would be settle it with funds generated from the listing of its independent power providers. But, they were also facing problems.

"The listing of the IPPs has been postponed and is expected to face more troubles because of the delay in the East Jimah project and 1MDB's declining financial credibility.

"Without the Jimah East project, coupled with its financial troubles, it is expected that the listing will not attract any investors.

"So, it is clear that 1MDB is not only facing troubles paying the RM2 billion loan from Maybank and RHB. But it would also have problems paying back the US$1 billion loan from the consortium of six banks," he said.

Rafizi also questioned if the funds from the Caymans were really brought back to Malaysia as it still did not have the money pay off its debts.

1MDB said on January 13 that the firm fully redeemed the US$2.318 billion which it invested in a Cayman Islands registered fund.

But the Edge Financial Daily reported that Ananda Krishnan had firmed up an agreement to loan 1MDB as much as RM2 billion to help the firm settle its debts with Maybank and RHB due at the end of this month.

Sources told the daily that the loan was merely an interim measure.

It was secured after Ananda Krishnan committed to inject the sum into Powertek Investment Holdings Sdn Bhd (PIH), which would enable PIH to pay the lenders.

But the daily said this route would have given Ananda Krishnan a majority stake in PIH, based on today’s valuation. 1MDB would lose control of PIH, a prospect that was not politically tenable.

- TMI