DEBT-LADEN Felda is looking to walk away from its partnership with Jakarta-based Rajawali Group and demand the return of more than US$500 million (RM2.05 billion) it had spent on oil palm estate and sugar-related manufacturing assets in Indonesia, according to the Straits Times.

In May 2017, under an initiative driven by former prime minister Najib Razak, Felda acquired a 37% stake in Rajawali’s Eagle High Plantations Tbk in a highly controversial and criticised deal.

The arrangement came come with a “put option”, which provided for the Malaysian-owned plantation firm to sell back the equity interest at the purchase price of US$505.4 million, together with an annual interest charge of 6% to be borne by the Indonesians.

In a letter to Rajawali dated January 3, Felda’s board of directors resolved to exercise that put option on grounds that the Indonesian company failed to meet key conditions, such as securing the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil certification, an internationally recognised accreditation that allows for access into key markets, before the end of 2019, said the report.

Malaysian government officials told The Straits Times that Rajawali, which has diversified business interests in telecommunications, agriculture, retail and mining, has informed Felda that it intends to challenge the put option in court.

Felda has been recording annual financial losses since 2013 and the plantation group’s debt has jumped to more than RM8 billion in 2018, from RM1.5 billion in 2009.

In the same period, the group’s debt-gearing ratio, which reflects the proportion of a company’s debt to its equity, rose to 46% from 14%.

From the onset, the Eagle High deal with Rajawali was criticised by investment analysts and bankers who warned that Felda was overpaying for an Indonesian asset controlled by billionaire Peter Sondakh, who continues to enjoy close ties with Najib, said the Singapore daily.

The previous Barisan Nasional government went ahead with the deal by providing Felda with a seven-year government loan amounting to RM2.25 billion to finance the purchase.

Felda has since been forced to realise a loss of nearly RM1.7 billion in the Eagle High investment in its financial books, said the report. – February 7, 2019.