ANWAR Ibrahim has demanded Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz give an explanation on how three local banks that have a sizable government interest had extended unsecured loans to cruise operator Genting Hong Kong, which has filed to wind up the company.

The banks are Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank), CIMB Group Holdings Berhad and RHB Bank Berhad. 

In a filing to the Hong Kong exchange last week, Genting Hong Kong said the company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due as its liquidity had dried up. 

The company also stated its cash is set to run out by the end of this month. 

The Port Dickson MP said in a statement that the question Tengku Zafrul needs to answer is, why are banks that have government interests through Permodalan Nasional Berhad, Khazanah and Employees Provident Fund actually giving unsecured loans to foreign gambling companies.

He said although the company was registered in Hong Kong, the owner is a Malaysian businessman who should at least be asked for a personal guarantee or his reserves in companies owned by him in Malaysia. 

The businessman Anwar referred to is Lim Kok Thay, the embattled cruise operator’s chairman and chief executive officer. He resigned from both positions on January 24.

“How these three banks extend the loan needs to be clarified,” the opposition leader said. 

Anwar also wanted the finance minister to explain how the RM2.4 billion loan that had been extended would be recovered from “the already bankrupt Genting Hong Kong”. 

He said the explanation is needed so as to avoid a repeat of the Hong Kong BMF scandal, a reference to one of Malaysia’s biggest financial scandals before 1MDB involving Bank Bumiputra, which lost US$1billion in loans to the Hong Kong Carrian Group. 

A report in the Singapore’s Straits Times stated the three banks’ total loans amounting to US$600 million (RM2.51 billion). – January 26, 2022.