Tuesday 31 July 2018
Several acts must be amended to allow for local govt elections
KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 (Bernama) -- A detailed study which includes the legal implications, mechanism, financial requirements and technical aspects must be conducted before local government elections can be held, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said several existing laws such as the Local Government Act 1976, the Election Act 1958, Federal Capital Act 1960, the Elections (Conduct of Elections) Regulations 1981, and the Elections (Registration of Electors) Regulations 2002 must first be amended.
"A detailed study must first be conducted, including holding a series of workshops with all the interested parties to look into the proposal for the election."
"We need about three years to have the elections because it involves a large expense," she said in reply to a question from Wong Hon Wai (PH-Bukit Bendera) during the question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat sitting today on whether the Pakatan Harapan government planned to have local government elections.
Zuraida said a feasibility study of the election would be tabled to the Cabinet by the end of this year.
-- BERNAMA.....
Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said several existing laws such as the Local Government Act 1976, the Election Act 1958, Federal Capital Act 1960, the Elections (Conduct of Elections) Regulations 1981, and the Elections (Registration of Electors) Regulations 2002 must first be amended.
"A detailed study must first be conducted, including holding a series of workshops with all the interested parties to look into the proposal for the election."
"We need about three years to have the elections because it involves a large expense," she said in reply to a question from Wong Hon Wai (PH-Bukit Bendera) during the question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat sitting today on whether the Pakatan Harapan government planned to have local government elections.
Zuraida said a feasibility study of the election would be tabled to the Cabinet by the end of this year.
-- BERNAMA.....
http://www.bernama.com/en/news.php?id=1485276
Malaysia to probe 1MDB Penang land deal: Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng
Malaysia's Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng alleged that the 2017 land deal was an attempt at "roundtripping".ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has vowed to investigate how scandal-hit state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) received RM2.7 billion (S$907 million) in August 2017 for land which it never handed over to the buyer.
Mr Lim told Parliament on Tuesday (July 31) that former 1MDB subsidiary My City Ventures, which owned the 234 acres in Penang, was sold to a Cayman Islands firm Silk Road Southeast Asia Real Estate.
"Money has been paid but until today the shares haven't been transferred to the buyer," he said, adding that it was not known who Silk Road belonged to. "This is a classic case of money laundering. We will definitely investigate this."
He alleged that the deal was an attempt at "roundtripping", an accounting term for the sale of an asset while agreeing to buy back the same or similarly-valued assets later, a tactic largely used to launder money or evade tax.
The transaction took place in 2016, when Mr Lim was Penang chief minister and the state had frozen the plot acquired by 1MDB. He had said that questions surrounding the firm would have to be answered before the sale freeze was lifted.
Mr Lim said: "They circumvented the restriction on the Penang land by not asking for a land transfer, merely purchasing the company."
The land was bought by 1MDB in 2013 for RM1.38 billion, meaning it nearly doubled its money with the 2017 sale.
Financial paper The Edge reported on Monday that payment for the Penang land may have flowed from a RM10 billion gas pipeline project awarded by Suria Strategic Energy Resources (SSER), owned by the Ministry of Finance, to China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau in Nov 2016. The Chinese company received 88 per cent of the project payment despite only completing 13 per cent of the work.
Special Officer to the Finance Minister Tony Pua has said that the ministry believes cash from SSER was being used to cover 1MDB debts.
Malaysia's anti-graft agency is now investigating the pipeline project.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-to-probe-1mdb-penang-land-deal-finance-minister-lim-guan-eng
Monday 30 July 2018
1MDB地皮偷偷卖给了开曼群岛公司
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The Edge Financial Daily
July 30, 2018 12:59 pm +08
（吉隆坡30日讯）财政部长林冠英表示，尽管槟城州政府已经冻结涉及一马发展公司（1MDB）在槟州亚逸依淡的土地交易，但共有234英亩（94.7公顷）地皮被偷偷卖给了开曼群岛公司丝绸之路东南亚房地产有限公司（Silk Road Southeast Asia Real Estate Ltd，简称丝绸之路）。
他指出，上述地皮于2017年8月24日以42.5亿人民币（27亿令吉）成交，比最初的13.8亿令吉收购价获利13.2亿令吉。
林冠英以书面方式回复国会的提问时表示，地主1MDB子公司My City Ventures私人有限公司与丝绸之路通过签署股权买卖协议，进行上述交易。
“尽管财政部独资子公司Sentuhan Budiman私人有限公司（SBSB）收到了出售My City Ventures的全部收益，但丝绸之路的股权转让尚未完成。”
“迄今，SBSB尚未收到丝绸之路的任何转让股份申请。”林冠英针对升旗山国会议员黄汉伟于7月19日询问有关地皮状况一事，如此表示。
消息指，由于买家随后没有寻求转让股票，因此该交易涉嫌洗钱活动。
知情人士告诉《The Edge》财经日报：“为什么投入那么多钱，又没有要求转让股权？显然的，这是洗钱活动。”
据了解，这笔资金可能来自财政部独资子公司苏里亚战略能源私人有限公司（SSER）于2016年11月1日颁发给中国石油管道局（China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau）的94亿令吉输送管计划。
财政部已发出工程及服务暂停通知予中国石油管道局，以及承建东海岸铁路计划（ECRL）的中国交通建设股份有限公司（CCCC）。
这笔资金被怀疑来自中国进出口银行提供的项目融资，然后转移至中东，再返回马来西亚进行土地交易，最后用于偿还35亿美元的国际石油投资公司（International Petroleum Investment Co）贷款。
知情人士说：“该公司（丝绸之路）根本不在乎（亚逸依淡的）地皮，因为这不是他们的钱。没有金钱踪迹证据，但很明显（这是洗钱）。”
但财政部无从下手，知情人士补充说，丝绸之路之前曾要求转让土地所有权，但此后一直没有跟进。
资料显示，成立于2013年3月21日的My City Ventures只是一家2令吉公司，缴足与发行股本为14万5503令吉。该公司董事为1MDB前总财务长Azmi Tahir及Chen Kai Hong。截至2017年3月31日止财年，该公司没有录得任何营业额，但净赚1万8478万令吉。总资产从2015财年的10.7亿令吉，暴跌至13万7882令吉。
2013年4月29日，My City Ventures子公司1MDB RE（Ayer Itam）私人有限公司向Farlim Properties私人有限公司及Gerak Indera私人有限公司收购亚逸依淡地皮，并于同年9月23日向发林集团（Farlim Group（Malaysia）Bhd）额外收购1.1英亩地皮，总值13.8亿令吉。
根据《The Edge》财经周刊于2014年10月16日的报导，包括地皮、不到20家商店和排屋在内的资产，位于亚逸依淡市中心。
据了解，当时1MDB支付的价格比两年前（2011年12月）的部分土地估价高出95%。
2016年5月26日，在1MDB解释其债务之前，槟城政府冻结了有关亚逸依淡土地的交易。
时任槟州首长林冠英指出，任何有兴趣购买土地的一方，都必须得到州政府的批准。
2016年，亚逸依淡土地及1MDB的其他资产，包括Bandar Malaysia私人有限公司与TRX City私人有限公司的股权以及英达岛，已经转至财政部旗下。
（编译：魏素雯）
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/1mdb%E5%9C%B0%E7%9A%AE%E5%81%B7%E5%81%B7%E5%8D%96%E7%BB%99%E4%BA%86%E5%BC%80%E6%9B%BC%E7%BE%A4%E5%B2%9B%E5%85%AC%E5%8F%B8
1MDB land surreptitiously sold to Cayman Islands firm
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The Edge Financial Daily
July 30, 2018 08:42 am +08
This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on July 30, 2018.
KUALA LUMPUR: Despite a freeze imposed by the Penang state government on transactions involving 1Malaysia Development Bhd’s (1MDB) Air Itam land in Penang, all 234 acres (94.7ha) have been surreptitiously sold to Cayman Islands-based Silk Road Southeast Asia Real Estate Ltd, according to Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
Guan Eng said the land was sold for 4.25 billion yuan (RM2.7 billion) on Aug 24, 2017, netting a profit of RM1.32 billion based on the original RM1.38 billion purchase price.
The sale was carried out through the disposal of the land’s owner, 1MDB unit My City Ventures Sdn Bhd, to Silk Road via a share sale agreement, Guan Eng said in a written parliamentary reply.
“Although the full proceeds from the disposal of My City Ventures have been received by Minister of Finance Inc’s wholly-owned subsidiary Sentuhan Budiman Sdn Bhd (SBSB), the transfer of shares to Silk Road has yet to be completed.
“To date, SBSB has yet to receive any application from Silk Road to have the shares transferred,” Guan Eng said in reply to a question on July 19 from Bukit Bendera member of parliament Wong Hon Wai on the status of the land.
A source familiar with the issue said the transaction reeks of money laundering, as the buyer did not subsequently seek the transfer of the shares.
“Why do you throw so much money and don’t ask for the transfer of titles? The obvious answer is money laundering,” the source told The Edge Financial Daily.
It is believed that the money might have travelled from the ministry of finance’s (MoF) wholly-owned unit Suria Strategic Energy Resources Sdn Bhd’s RM9.4 billion gas pipeline project that was awarded to China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau on Nov 1, 2016.
The project is being scrutinised by the federal government along with the East Coast Rail Link built by China Communications Construction Co Ltd, with both companies being issued with stopwork orders on the grounds of national interest, among others.
The money is suspected to have originated from the project’s financing via China Exim Bank before travelling to Silk Road, with an Arab shareholder, and returning to Malaysia where it was transacted in renminbi for the land, and later used to service the US$3.5 billion International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) loan.
“The company (Silk Road) did not care about the (Air Itam) land because it was not their money anyway. There is no money trail evidence but it is quite obvious (that it is money laundering),” the source said.
However, the MoF is not able to do anything, the source said, adding that Silk Road did ask for the transfer of the land titles sometime back but there has been no follow-up since.
A company search showed that My City Ventures is a RM2 company set up on March 21, 2013 with RM145,503 paid-up and issued capital. Former 1MDB chief financial officer Azmi Tahir and Chen Kai Hong were named as directors. The company posted a net profit of RM18,478 with zero revenue for the financial year ended March 31, 2017 (FY17). Its total assets dropped to RM137,882 from RM1.07 billion in FY15.
My City Ventures’ subsidiary 1MDB RE (Ayer Itam) Sdn Bhd bought the Air Itam land from Farlim Properties Sdn Bhd and Gerak Indera Sdn Bhd on April 29, 2013, along with another 1.1 acres from Farlim Group Bhd on Sept 23, 2013, for a total of RM1.38 billion.
An article in The Edge Malaysia weekly on Oct 16, 2014 showed that the assets, comprising primarily land but also including fewer than 20 shops and terraced houses, are located around the Air Itam town centre.
The land has many encumbrances and would have been a challenge to develop seeing that some 1,200 to 1,400 “ground tenant” dwellings have been occupying the land for more than 50 years, and moving them out would be a very expensive and long-drawn affair.
The land is also fragmented and its owners have fought many costly legal battles with each other and been unable to develop it.
At that time, it was learnt that the price paid by 1MDB was 95% higher than what some of the land was valued at just two years earlier in December 2011.
On May 26, 2016, the Penang government froze land transactions concerning the Air Itam land pending 1MDB’s explanation on its debt fund.
Guan Eng, who was Penang chief minister then, said any party that was interested in buying the land would have to get approval from the state government.
In 2016, the Air Itam land and other 1MDB assets, including its stake in Bandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd and TRX City Sdn Bhd, and Pulau Indah, were transferred to the MoF.
Note: The story has been amended to show that Silk Road Southeast Asia Real Estate Ltd is a Cayman Island-registered company and not a China-based company.
https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/1mdb-land-surreptitiously-sold-chinese-firm
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