By Khairie Hisyam
Liew Kee Sin
The issue of former SP Setia boss Liew Kee Sin helming the Battersea Power Station redevelopment project in light of his proposed blank-cheque property listing will be addressed next year, said Sime Darby today.
Speaking to journalists, Sime Darby group chief executive Mohd Bakke Salleh said the issue of Liew’s position is not being discussed at present.
“Liew will continue to be chairman of Battersea up to September 2015 (when Liew’s term will end),“ said Mohd Bakke. “Sometime next year this issue will need to be addressed.”
Liew’s chairmanship of Battersea up to September 2015 is part of a continuity effort following his resignation and subsequent departure from property developer SP Setia in end-April this year.
The Battersea project is a joint venture involving SP Setia and Sime Darby, which hold 40% stake each, as well as the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) which holds the remaining 20%.
Expected to last up to 15 years, the project boasts a gross development value (GDV) of approximately £8 billion (RM42 billion), though the value may go up to as much as £10 billion (RM52.5 billion).
The total GDV figure alone is impressive for a Malaysian-driven project, dwarfing most listed developers on Bursa Malaysia, barring the big property boys.
In comparison, SP Setia’s total ongoing and potential GDV for its land bank comes to RM102 billion, of which roughly RM71 billion is the developer’s portion. Close competitor Mah Sing Group Bhd has some RM66 billion in terms of total potential GDV and unbilled sales.
Shortly after his departure from SP Setia in end-April, however, Liew surfaced in the board of fast-rising Eco World Development Group Bhd, where his son is an executive director and a number of his former associates are holding key positions.
This raised conflict of interest concerns as Liew is still involved with SP Setia through his position at Battersea as well as another project in China.
Notably Liew and wife had financed their son’s part in a reverse take-over exercise that led to the backdoor listing of Eco World, though he had denied any link to Eco World at the time. When the offer was made, the transaction for 65% of the Focal Aims Holdings Bhd was worth RM230.7 million.
Since Focal Aims was renamed to Eco World following the successful reverse take-over, the company had grown rapidly to clock in over RM3 billion in property sales for the 13-month period ended Oct 31 this year.
Late last month Eco World announced that it intends to subscribe to a special purpose acquisition vehicle (Spac) listing by Liew focusing on international property markets. Essentially a blank-cheque listing, the Spac aims to raise RM1.9 billion if the proposed initial public offering (IPO) materialises.
If the listing happens, it would mark the first property-focused Spac in Malaysia and double the total Spac IPO proceeds seen by the nation so far. At present there had only been four other Spac listings, collectively raking in RM1.8 billion in IPO proceeds.
However, there is a possibility that Liew will stay beyond September 2015 despite his other business interests, said Mohd Bakke.
Earlier this year Mohd Bakke remarked that he is confident Liew will stay at Battersea beyond September 2015.
“Maybe we can cut a special deal to keep him, even,” said Mohd Bakke today, noting that Liew “is not driving Eco World”.
“I don’t think he will be taking on the chief executive officer or managing director position again,” said Mohd Bakke, referring to Liew’s proposed Spac listing. “I wouldn’t do that if I were in his shoes.”
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