The government is reviewing overseas investments after Battersea losses, while requiring GLICs to increase domestic investment, Anwar tells Parliament.
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has acknowledged that Malaysia’s initial investment in London’s Battersea Power Station redevelopment was too high and had incurred losses, adding that efforts were being made to recover the investment.
Anwar said the project was among several overseas investments undertaken in the past that warranted closer scrutiny.
“Although efforts are now being made to recover it, the initial investment was too high and had suffered losses,” he told the Dewan Rakyat during Prime Minister’s Question Time (PMQT) today.
He was responding to Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim, who asked how much government-linked investment companies (GLICs) had invested in the Battersea redevelopment over the past 15 years and what economic benefits the project had generated for Malaysia.
“Why were we somewhat too hasty to invest overseas?” Anwar said, acknowledging the validity of Hassan’s concerns about the country’s overseas investment priorities.
Anwar said the government had since introduced an initial requirement for GLICs to allocate at least 20% of their investments domestically, with the proportion to be increased according to their financial capacity and readiness.
However, he stressed that overseas investments should not be dismissed entirely, as many had generated substantial returns despite losses in certain ventures.
He said the government was taking a more cautious approach to major investment decisions to avoid repeating past mistakes, while recognising the need for institutional investors to diversify their portfolios.
Anwar did not disclose the total amount invested in Battersea during the parliamentary exchange but said he would provide the relevant details later.
The Battersea site was acquired in 2012 by a Malaysian consortium comprising S P Setia, Sime Darby and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF). The restored power station opened to the public in October 2022.
In 2019, Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) and the EPF acquired the power station’s commercial assets.
The redevelopment has faced scrutiny over its financial performance, although the total realised losses from the project have not been publicly established.
