KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 — Khazanah Nasional Bhd is still looking for a strategic partner for the ailing Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB).
Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said the sovereign wealth fund is studying offers by several interested firms, and these have been brought up at a board meeting.
“But, we still feel that there is a need to look at other views and offers, as the existing offers are not so interesting and should be studied first,” he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.
“Several international companies have expressed an interest in helping. Our intention is not to sell the national carrier, but to find a strategic partner to improve its position.
“I don’t want to give a timeline, but the prime minister has received a visit from an international company, and I was asked to follow up on the discussion as soon as possible.”
Last October, Azmin said Khazanah had received several proposals from both airline and non-airline firms seeking to be MAB’s strategic partner.
On when the exercise will wrap up, he said: “I’m hoping that we will be able to conclude the whole exercise as soon as possible, as we want MAB to be on the growth path, to reduce Khazanah’s financial burden.”
On the revival of negotiations between Khazanah and Norwegian telco Telenor ASA, he said the fund will look at the deal if the offer is good.
“It was initiated last year, but it was suspended due to several reasons. So far, there has been no development.”
It was reported that Khazanah and Telenor have revived talks on a potential deal involving Axiata Group Bhd.
— Bernama
