KUALA LUMPUR - 1Malaysia Development Bhd’s (1MDB) latest venture has proved wrong all those claiming that the national sovereign fund is a failure, says Umno minister Datuk Ab Aziz Kaprawi.
Stamping his endorsement and support for the Affin Bank Bhd-Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) deal, Ab Aziz said the latest project showed that TRX was a good investment unlike what was portrayed by the Opposition.
Affin Bank had today announced that it was buying a 54,250 sq ft land plot within TRX for RM255 million and moving to its new headquarters to be housed on a site located in the district’s Financial Quarter.
Its new head office will be part of TRX’s Central Business District that occupies the most visible corner of the site, fronting both Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan Sultan Ismail.
“The project, I’m sure, benefits all parties involved in it.
“It also shows that the government’s move in regards to 1MDB was right.
“Those who consistently slam the government’s initiatives and point out only the bad can now eat their words.
“The Opposition can no longer use 1MDB as a tool to topple the government led by Datuk Seri Najib Razak,” he told The Rakyat Post.
When asked on the possibility that the deal may be questioned for the fact that the bank’s director, Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, is also the chairman of 1MDB, the Deputy Transport Minister said that it was a “non-issue”.
Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin
“Affin Bank is a corporate body with shareholders who would keep the board accountable for all their actions and the bank knows this.
“The existence of the shareholders subject them to processes which ensure transparency in every transaction they get themselves into.”
Affin Bank had earlier today said that negotiations for the plot, earmarked for a 35-storey office block, began in 2012 and its new office tower, with 830 parking bays, will have a gross floor area of 823,439 sq ft, with the price per sq ft of approximately RM310.
Before deciding on TRX, group chief executive officer Kamarul Ariffin Mohd Jamil said the bank had also looked at possible locations at KL Sentral and KLCC areas.
The TRX purchase is also in line with market valuation of RM261 million by CH Williams Talhar and Wong.
Affin Bank joins Australian developer Lend Lease, which signed a RM8 billion deal in March this year to develop the Lifestyle Quarter and Indonesia’s Mulia Group that will develop the RM665 million Signature Tower, the tallest block in TRX.
The overall project developer, 1MDB Real Estate Sdn Bhd, has also signed with global leader in water management Veolia Water Technologies South East Asia to provide the water recycling and treatment plant.
Phase 1 of TRX is slated for completion in 2018, featuring the TRX MRT interchange station on site, direct links to Kuala Lumpur arterial roads and major highways, as well as connections to the planned KL-Singapore high-speed railway in Bandar Malaysia via the MRT Line 2. - Therakyatpost
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