Home / / FELDA'S FINANCES STRONG WITH RM1.197B PROFIT

FELDA'S FINANCES STRONG WITH RM1.197B PROFIT

Posted by YB Datuk Hj. Ahmad bin Hj. Maslan 5:02 PM

THE Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) made RM1.197 billion in net profit last year, keeping its current financial standing strong despite its RM6.5 billion loan from the Employees' Provident Fund, the house heard yesterday.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Ahmad Maslan said Felda's total assets were worth RM19.18 billion based on the cost price of its 341,000 hectares of land.

He was replying to opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PKR-Permatang Pauh), who asked the reason for the loan and Felda's current financial status.

"The estimated net profit for this year is also almost RM1 billion. Because of this strong financial standing, Felda is far from bankruptcy and so, its budget for this year was RM1.6 billion, four times the size of Kelantan's budget," he said.

Ahmad said RM3.55 billion of the loan was used to fund replanting for 19,274 settlers, finance five out of the 12 Felda housing projects involving 1,324 low-cost homes for the new generation of settlers, finance its national food warehouse project, and finance the purchase of the Malayan Sugar Manufacturing Co Bhd.

He added Felda had already repaid EPF RM99.69 million and estimated the total repayment this year at RM269.44 million.

In his supplementary question, Anwar asked Maslan to clarify an allegation that Felda, through its Felda Global Ventures unit, used the money borrowed from EPF to invest in foreign companies and suffered losses of RM500 million between 1997 and last year.

"Felda's financial status is strong. There's no loss. I do not know where you got that information.

"This loan does not burden Felda settlers. Instead, it will benefit them. Felda had also borrowed RM4.957 billion from the government, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Kuwaiti and Saudi funds for development. We had repaid everything by 2000, 14 years early."