ALOR STAR: The state government raked in RM10 million after letting go of about 10 percent of its shares in two public-listed companies last year.
Kedah Investment, Industry and Trade Committee chairman Datuk Ku Abdul Rahman Ku Ismail (BN-Guar Chempedak) told the State Legislative Assembly that the capital generated from the shares exercise would be utilised for future investment.
He said the move was only made once and the state was still waiting for a suitable market condition to invest the capital in new shares.
Ku Abdul Rahman said the state government owns 1.8 million units of shares in Petronas Dagangan Berhad worth RM41.49 million and 3.74 million unit shares in the Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad (MAHB) worth about RM23.35 million.
“The 10 per cent shares that we disposed off were from both Petronas Dagangan dan MAHB and we gained about RM10 million for the total shares exercised,” he told newsmen at the sideline of the State Budget Meeting 2017 this afternoon.
He explained that due to unstable market condition, the state has decided to put on hold its plan to acquire new shares to avoid risk.
Ku Abdul Rahman said the state government is enjoying high dividends from both Petronas Dagangan and MAHB over the years and has no plan to relinquish any more shares.
Earlier, when answering to a question from Datuk Taulan Rasul (Pas-Tokai), Ku Abdul Rahman said besides the two companies, the state also held about 17 million unit shares in Amanah Saham Kedah (ASK).