MALAYSIANS are up in arms with sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) after both government-linked investment companies (GLICs) disposed of their combined minority stakes in e-commerce pioneer and Malaysian start-up poster-child FashionValet Sdn Bhd (FV) for a mere RM3.1 mil.
The Finance Ministry (MOF) which stated the total loss at RM43.9 mil from the initial investments of RM27 mil by Khazanah and RM20 mil by PNB further confirmed an exposé by tech newsletter Asia Tech Review (ATR) two months back that FV has been sold in fire sale to local investment firm NXBT Partners.
NXBT now owns 51.25% of FV, making it the largest shareholder, followed by Fadzarudin Shah, husband of entrepreneur and FV founder Vivy Yusof, who holds 17.65%.
The company has posted losses for three consecutive years with a RM34.5 mil loss after tax in FY2022 as revenue fell 10.4%.
Fuming netizens who reacted to a past by BFM News (@NewsBFM) expressed disbeliefs that there were so many red flags yet the management of Khazanah and PNB seemed oblivious to them.
The Finance Ministry has confirmed that Khazanah and PNB sold their combined minority stakes in Fashion Valet for a mere RM3.1 million.
This results in a total loss of RM43.9 million from the initial investments of RM27 million by Khazanah and RM20 million by PNB.
🧵1 https://t.co/is39P8CGOq pic.twitter.com/I6vRYZ380F
— BFM News (@NewsBFM) October 29, 2024
They pointed to FV buying into the dUCk brand (via 30 Maple Sdn Bhd) which is renowned for its contemporary hijab scarves/modest fashion for modern Muslim women in December 2018 so soon after both GLICs having invested in FV in March 2018 (the dUCK Group is part of FV itself).
One commenter even pointed to disclaimers which states the obvious such as “Khazanah regularly invests in and divests from assets based on our investment horizon and portfolio allocation strategy”.
“You know this is insider/mismanagement issue. @anwaribrahim (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) as chairman, please, please take a look at this,” he pleaded.
Inevitably, a clarion call is made to the nation’s top graft buster to swing into action.
Many commenters lamented that at the end of the day, it is the taxpayers who have to pick up the tabs.
Like what one commenter put it, such is an investment risk that one has to endure for “betting on influencers with no real business experience or credentials”.
Worse still, so much opportunity cost have been lost along the way.
Since the damage has been done to the point of no turning back, one netizen mooted the idea of Vivy penning a new book to be aptly entitled “How Do I Lose RM43.9 MILLION of TAXPAYERS MONEY & Get Away With It”. – Oct 30, 2024
