KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — The DAP’s Tony Pua today urged Malayan Banking (Maybank) to shed light on its sale of Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) shares that the lawmaker alleged could cost the government-linked firm as much as RM1.74 billion.

In June, the country’s largest banking corporation announced the disposal of 9 per cent of the shares it held in BII to a third-party investor.

“What is perhaps most curious about the announcement is that there’s no mention on how much they sold the 9 per cent stake for, in the announcement to Bursa Malaysia.

“They also do not mention who they sold the 9 per cent to,” he said..

But Pua (picture) added that a report by business daily The Edge on July 1 has since revealed that the shares were sold at Rp355 each, or 21.9 per cent less than what Maybank had paid for them.

The PJ Utara MP said that at that rate, Maybank was looking at a potential loss of RM1.74 billion for the disposal of its entire stake, before warning that BII stocks have since dropped lower to Rp315 last week.

At the lower price, Maybank would book an even higher paper loss of RM2.5 billion as a result of the BII acquisition that cost RM8.25 billion initially, or approximately RP455 per share.

He noted that since the acquisition, the return on Maybank’s investment in BII has been -0.17 per cent in 2009, 1.86 per cent in 2010, 2.31 per cent in 2011, and 6.27 per cent in 2012.

Pua then pointed out that Maybank chairman Tan Sri Megat Zaharuddin Megat Mohd Nor told the Reuters news agency in 2012 that the bank would not sell BII’s stake for less that RP510 per share. 

“However, evidence points to the contrary and in the light of billions of ringgit of losses incurred by Maybank… it is crucial now for Maybank to come clean,” he added, referring in particular to the disposal of the 9 per cent stake.

“The price of the transaction is crucial because that will determine if Maybank had made and realised losses in the sale in the light of the fierce criticisms it received from all parties during the acquisition,” he said.

Pua noted that, as a government-linked corporation (GLC), a bulk of Maybank’s shares was owned by the government.

“Hence, whatever happens to Maybank effects the financial circumstances of the government,” he said at a press conference today.

Last week, Maybank received another extension until end of this year to sell the remaining 8.3 per cent that it must in order to comply with the Indonesian government’s requirement for it to “free float” 20 per cent of the issued and paid-up share capital of BII.