KJ disputes BlackRock's influence in Malaysia

SHAH ALAM - Former minister Khairy Jamaluddin dismissed claims that BlackRock's investment presence across Malaysian companies should justify allowing its affiliate, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), to participate in the privatisation of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB).

In the latest episode of the ‘Keluar Sekejap’ podcast, Khairy argued against the assertion that BlackRock’s extensive presence in Malaysia warranted GIP’s involvement in MAHB’s privatisation.

He criticised the argument as lacking substance and not being a fair comparison.

“This argument lacks substance and it’s not an apple-to-apple comparison. They said that BlackRock is everywhere.

“I want to say that its shareholding in those companies is small, around one per cent to two per cent and acquired in the open market and they have no say in the management and they are not on the board of directors,” he said.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had previously stated that BlackRock and its affiliates were active in states like Kelantan, Selangor and Sarawak, as well as in the stock market.

This led some to advocate against the deal due to GIP’s association with BlackRock, which faced accusations of profiting from United States (US) defence firms allegedly supplying weapons to Israel.

Despite these concerns, GIP clarified that BlackRock was not involved in the MAHB deal, even though BlackRock agreed to acquire GIP in Jan.

The acquisition was set to be finalised in the third quarter of 2024.

Anwar also mentioned in the Dewan Rakyat that GIP was selected because it agreed to have Malaysian nationals as the chairman and CEO of MAHB.

Khairy highlighted that the deal involved GIP, BlackRock and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority acquiring 30 per cent of MAHB’s shares, which would grant them significant influence over management decisions.

He expressed certainty that GIP would appoint a representative to the MAHB board.

Khairy also questioned GIP’s expertise in airport management, noting that while GIP-managed airports handled 60 million passengers last year, MAHB managed almost double that number, with 119 million passengers across 40 airports, including one in Turkey.

MAHB manages a comprehensive network of 39 airports throughout Malaysia, including five international airports, 17 domestic airports, and 17 STOLports (short take-off and landing airports).