List Petronas to help reduce national debt - MP Wong Chen

KUALA LUMPUR - The government is advised to study the possibility of listing Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) via an initial public offering (IPO) as one way for the government to raise money to help reduce the national debt, said Subang Member of Parliament (PH) Wong Chen.

"The listing of Petronas would provide a massive cash injection to pare down the national debt, to provide more financial transparency and better governance to the national oil and gas company, hence improving overall fiscal revenue for the government.

"I believe that if Petronas is managed as a company with high international governance standards, the company's average profit will exceed RM60 billion a year and can reach RM100 billion a year," he said when debating the motion of thanks on the royal address at Parliament today.

He said this move could help reduce the national debt to about 30 per cent of GDP within 10-15 years.

"Based on an estimation made, the listing of Petronas with 20 per cent shares sold to the public, we can raise RM300 billion in revenue and increase its income to RM60 billion a year.

"If we pay all these (debts), the national debt can be brought down to a controllable level of 30 per cent of GDP. Therefore I call on the government to do a detailed study immediately before factors such as climate change harm the valuation of Petronas assets,” he added.

He also suggested that the government follow the wise step taken by Saudi Arabia on the listing of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) in 2019. - BERNAMA