Sime Darby chairman Tun Musa Hitam, when asked to comment on this on the sidelines of yesterday’s Malaysia China-Business Council (MCBC) AGM, repeated the phrase that he had used on June 14, that Mohd Bakke would be appointed “as soon as practicable.”
Musa added that the effective date for Mohd Bakke’s appointment as Sime Darby president and group chief executive officer would be decided by the board. “Everything has been very clearly stated on the appointment of Bakke,” he said.
Dato Bakke Salleh
Musa reiterated that acting president and chief executive officer Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid would remain in the current position until Bakke took office.
Bakke is currently group president and chief executive officer of Felda Global Ventures Holding Sdn Bhd.
Bakke was roped in to replace Datuk Seri Ahmad Zubir Murshid, who was asked by the board to take a leave of absence, pending an investigation.
Asked on the outcome of the investigation, Musa said it was expected to be revealed at the end of August as mentioned.
To recap, Sime Darby’s energy and utilities division had incurred cost overruns on four projects over the last few years, involving the building of oil and gas installations in Qatar, the Bakun hydro-electric project and a marine project involving the construction of vessels for use in the Qatari project.
As a result of making provisions to the tune of RM964mil in the third quarter ended March 31, Sime Darby suffered its first quarterly loss since the 2007 mega merger.
The third-quarter net loss totalled RM309mil and nudged its nine-month net profit to RM804.2mil from RM1.3bil a year ago.
On the MCBC AGM yesterday, Deputy Finance Minister I Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai said Malaysia and China were expected to register between US$40bil and US$45bil in bilateral trade this year, driven by improving world economy, various business potential and the rising trend showed in the first quarter.
“In 2009, our total trade with China exceeded US$36bil. The total trade for first three months of 2010 was valued at US$10.6bil, up from US$6.87bil in the same period last year,” he said.
Musa, who is also the co-chairman of MCBC, said the recognition of Malaysia as an approved investment destination under the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) scheme by the China’s banking regulator was a positive development for the two countries.
“Malaysia now joins as a selected group of 10 other countries including Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States as approved destinations under the QDII. This will greatly facilitate the flow of Chinese investments into Malaysia,” he said.
With the recognition, approved institutions regulated by China Banking Regulatory Commission and China Securities Regulatory Commission may invest funds pooled from their clients into Malaysian securities, including equities, fixed-income products and collective investment schemes approved by the Securities Commission.
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