Analysts: No complications seen in Pos stake divestment

Khazanah Nasional Bhd's divestment of its 32.21 per cent stake in Pos Malaysia Bhd could go through despite having some unresolved issues.

Chief among them are the government's golden share in the company and the yet-to-be-passed Postal Bill in Parliament.

Analysts contacted by Business Times, however, saw no complications for the deal to be completed soon.

"We don't see why not (for the divestment deal to be completed). The parties involved or bidders should by now have some idea on what to expect," said an analyst.

On the valuation, he said it's up to Khazanah Nasional and the buyer to decide.

OSK Investment analyst Christopher Eng said the divestment deal could go through easily as it is based on a willing buyer, willing seller basis.

"If the buyer is willing to accept the current status of Pos Malaysia and does not want to wait for the Postal Bill to be passed in Parliament, I don't see any reason for the deal not to succeed," he said.

OSK in its research note dated March 7 had said the unveiling of Pos Malaysia's strategic partner is expected to be announced in the next one to two months as the deadline of March 15 for bidding draws near.

The research house said the potential relaxation of the use of Pos Malaysia's landbank under the purview of the Postal Bill appeared to be progressing well as the draft Bill would be tabled in Parliament sometime this month.

It expects the proposed amendments related to relaxation to go through as it would make more economic sense for the government to optimise the potential value of the landbank.

Checks on the list of bills to be tabled at the current Parliament sitting that ends on April 7, however, showed the proposed Postal Bill was not on the list.

Khazanah when contacted, declined to comment on reports that the divestment of the Pos Malaysia stake can be completed by April 12 and will be announced at the upcoming Invest Malaysia 2011.

"For us, the news is speculative. We can't make any comments at the present time," said a spokesperson. - By Azlan Abu Bakar, btimes.com.my