Genting Hong Kong’s demise leaves Malaysian banks – and its government – facing US$600 million question
- Finger pointing in parliament as opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim raises spectre of the Bumiputra Malaysia Finance scandal of the 1980s
- With Najib Razak and finance minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz also wading in, the issue has become a political hot potato ahead of Johor’s upcoming snap election
The Singaporean daily quoted an unnamed senior banker from one of the three banks as saying that Genting Hong Kong’s troubles were going to be “painful, particularly after most banks had a good [financial year] in 2021”.
The report said other creditors involved included Singapore-listed Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole.
With the Malaysian government’s status as the biggest shareholder of the three local banks – through the investment vehicle Permodalan Nasional Berhad – Anwar queried how a “gambling company” was able to obtain unsecured loans from the lenders.
The veteran politician, a former finance minister, raised the spectre of the Bumiputra Malaysia Finance scandal of the 1980s, in which a state-backed lender suffered billions of ringgit in losses after providing loans to companies with vague track records.
