The new acting president and chief executive officer of government-linked conglomerate Sime Darby Berhad was today visited by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) as part of their the probe into the recent massive loss incurred by the company.

Speaking to reporters at the Sime Darby Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur this evening, Azhar Abdul Hamid said that the anti-graft body questioned him as part of their preliminary investigations.

azlan "I had a three-hour serious discussion with (the MACC). They asked general questions as (the probe) is still in the early stages.

"Sime Darby will give our fullest cooperation," he said.

 

The multi-portfolio company has received much bad press since it revealed on May 13 massive losses amounting to RM964 million involving projects under its energy and utilities division.

According to its third quarter results announced today, Sime Darby recorded an operating loss of RM1.019 billion for the division.

This has put the group in the red by RM309 million- its first ever quarterly loss.

The group also announced that the forecast loss on the four troubled projects - Qatar Petroleum (QP), Maersk Oil Qatar (MQP) Marine and the Bakun dam - amounted to RM1.3 billion.

A bail-out possible  

Of the four, Bakun is the biggest with losses estimated at May 13 as at RM450 million.

Other Sime Darby business areas involving its plantation, property, motors and industrial divisions however recorded ‘outstanding’ growths in profits compared to last year with the profits of motors division rising 71 percent.

Asked if the total cost overrun for the Bakun dam, which is the size of Singapore, would amount to RM1.7 billion as reported by the media, group chief financial officer Tong Poh Keow said the actual amount is expected to be lower.

She added the real figure could not be revealed as internal reviews were still underway. She also said that the group was unaware of the huge losses until the tail-end of the project.

The QP and Marine projects have been completed while the Bakun dam and MOQ projects are in their final stages.

The Bakun project  ( above ), in which Sime Engineering holds a 35.7 percent interest, was awarded in September 2002 and initially scheduled for completion in September 2007.

Queried on speculation that the government was bailing Sime Darby out to the tune of RM700 million, Azhar said that they have yet to approach the government.

"We are talking about it internally first and are still reviewing (the causes of the losses) and we prefer not to approach the government until we know," he said.

PricewaterhouseCoopers consulted

Azhar, however, could not say when the review was expected to be concluded.

He added measures have been taken to ensure all documentation and evidence relating to the fiasco remain intact and available for both internal and external probes.

Sime Darby has also appointed legal and audit firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers to investigate the four projects to determine culpability.

PricewaterhouseCoopers was yesterday instructed to refine the organisation and report structure, and is to report back in two weeks time.