The chairperson of Malaysian and regional banking giant CIMB Group Holdings has come out calling for the country’s sovereign development fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) to come clean about whatever issues it’s currently facing.
Also, you do realise the chairperson of CIMB is Prime Minister Najib Razak’s brother, Nazir Razak, right? Awkward.
“We need to put the concerns to rest. Probably we should disclose what needs to be disclosed for people to have the full picture of it,” The Malaysian Insider quoted him as saying, after the CIMB Group’s annual general meeting today.
While Nazir conceded that 1MDB’s current financial troubles – it’s reported to be RM42 billion in debt – would not adversely affect Malaysia’s banking and financial system, he did say that it would be good “to put the issue behind” as soon as possible, as the sovereign development fund’s very public difficulties would sway investors’ sentiments on Malaysia and put a further dent on the already weak ringgit.
The Malaysian Insider reports that Nazir was then asked if he had any disagreements with his older brother Najib, who in addition to serving as the Prime Minister, also acts as Finance Minister, whose ministry directly owns 1MDB. Najib is also the chairperson of 1MDB’s board of advisers.
“We are brothers. There are agreements and disagreements. It is healthy and it is normal,” he said in reply.
Nazir went on to clarify that it was the Finance Ministry’s decision to hold off on the sale option for 1MDB’s power assets, a few days after the CIMB Group was appointed as 1MDB’s adviser.
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