Selangor government-linked companies (GLCs) have been directed to be more cautious with agreements involving land development to avoid lopsided deals, according to Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.

His statement comes on the heels of yesterday'scourt victory for developer Nusa Gapurna over Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS), forcing it to sell its 30 percent stake in PJ Sentral.

Khalid added that the state will also continue reviewing existing partnerships to identify lopsided deals and take ‘corrective measures’ as necessary.

“PKNS’ joint venture agreement with Nusa Gapurna that has ultimately became a court case is one of many examples of agreements that the state is investigating and reviewing.

“In PKNS alone, there are 30 joint ventures that are being reviewed,” he said in a statement today.

According to media reports, Nusa Gapurna had sold its 70 percent stake in PJ Sentral to Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd, and PKNS had been forced to tag along and dispose of  its stake in the property as well.

PKNS had filed a suit to stop the deal, claiming that it has preemption rights over Nusa Gapurna’s stake.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court had dismissed the PKNS case and allowed the deal to proceed, the latter  reportedly intends to appeal the case.

Another example of a lopsided partnership, Khalid said, was between several GLCs with Talam . The state government later resorted to a debt restructuring exercise to recover the RM392 million it owed government subsidiaries.

“The state government also encourages all GLCs to sign the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s Corporate Integrity Pact to ensure that all business is conducted with proper corporate governance and secure the state’s interests,” he added.