FGV chief writes to shareholders

Amir Hisyam Rasid  -  15 Januarh, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: FGV Holdings Bhd chairman Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid has written an unprecedented letter to shareholders, laying bare manifold problems facing the company that lost RM13.6 billion in market capitalisation since its listing.

He expects the company to turn around with the initiatives that will be implemented by the management team led by the new group chief executive officer, who will be announced in a few days time.

“I am taking this unorthodox step to write directly to because, as shareholders, and therefore, the owners of FGV, you deserve timely and clear updates on your company and where we are in terms of turning it around,” he said in the letter released to Bursa Malaysia yesterday evening.

To implement the company’s turnaround, FGV had appointed a new group chief financial officer, a new chief procurement officer, a new chief operating officer of the plantation operations and a new chief human resource officer.

“With this professional team in place, FGV will be able to make changes that need to be made, make tough decisions to cut waste and trim the fat, and start sweating our assets as they ought to be.”

As part of the transformation plan, Azhar said FGV had identified non-core businesses and assets valued at RM350 million for disposal. These non-core businesses have taken up resources and time, but do not offer the kinds of rewards a reasonable investor would expect.

When FGV made its debut on Bursa Malaysia six-and-a-half years ago, it was the second largest initial public offering in the world, and raised RM4.5 billion from its listing. Its largest shareholder, the Federal Land Development Authority, received RM5.5 billion from the offer for sale of its stake in FGV.

“Both FGV and Felda had been entrusted by the investing public with a combined RM10 billion to create value for them and all other stakeholders. At listing, FGV’s market capitalisation was RM16.6 billion, today it is about RM3 billion.”

Azhar said as one of the largest producers of crude palm oil (CPO) in the world, FGV should be delivering far more value to its shareholders than it is today.

“I was appointed chairman on Sept 8, 2017, by the government with only one mandate: fix FGV.

“At the time, I was not fully aware of what the problems were, other than that which was already circulating in the public domain. We had all heard the stories, the business of politics and equally, the politics of business, that permeates almost every level in FGV. It took me a few months to realise just how dire the situation was, and the fact that FGV needed a transformational overhaul.”

Azhar highlighted 12 problems that led to FGV’s poor financial performance. These include poor management of plantations, unwise investments of listing proceeds, underperforming joint ventures, negative market perception, and accusations of labour abuse and human rights violations.

“As chairman of FGV, I have laid bare all the facts that I am able to disclose to you today. This is a practice I plan to continue as long as I am chairman, because transparency and, timely and full disclosure are particularly important when trust has been eroded.

“With the information in this letter, you can now judge us over the next several months. You can decide if we are doing right by you and the company we all call ours. And you can decide if we deserve to win your trust back,” Azhar concluded.