Khazanah, PNB sold RM47m stake in FashionValet for RM3.1m

Khazanah Nasional and Permodalan Nasional Berhad’s (PNB) share value in FashionValet had dropped by almost RM44 million when the business was sold in 2023, compared to how much they spent in 2018.

In a written parliamentary reply, the Finance Ministry stated that Khazanah pumped in RM27 million, and PNB RM20 million, to acquire a minority stake in the local fashion brand in 2018.

It was part of a gambit to boost bumiputera businesses in the e-commerce sector.

However, following the Covid-19 pandemic and troubles with fundraising, FashionValet was severely affected, the ministry said.

This is despite the Covid-19 pandemic being a major boon for e-commerce businesses.

The Finance Ministry said that by the end of 2023, a bumiputera company - NXBT Partners - had offered to buy out Khazanah and PNB’s stake in FashionValet and inject much-needed capital into the company.

The two were paid RM3.1 million from the sale - which it described as a “responsible exit” from the business.

The Finance Ministry also alleged that the losses suffered were not that bad.

“The losses from selling FashionValet shares is very small compared to the income generated by Khazanah and PNB in the relevant years,” it said, without elaborating how much revenue the two had received from the fashion company during the five years they were shareholders.

The answers were in response to a query from Yeo Bee Yin (Harapan-Puchong) who wanted to know how much Khazanah and PNB had poured into FashionValet, and how much they sold the shares for.

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