Felda chairman Tan Sri Megat Zaharuddin said some of the company's assets may be sold to pay its debt. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 — The Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), with new board members, has put in place a number of restructuring methods for a turnaround within the next two years, said Chairman Tan Sri Megat Zaharuddin Megat Mohd Nor.

He said the methods include restructuring bank loans and obtaining an extra lifeline for payments as well as disposing of some company’s assets within the country and overseas.

“We have assets in London, namely a hostel, apartment and hotel, alongside hotels in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu with some land in certain places,” he told reporters during a special media briefing here today.

According to Megat Zaharuddin, the assets are worth between RM2.1 billion and RM2.2 billion, which would be used to repay the government agency’s debt of RM8 billion.

He said Felda aims to reduce its debt to RM6.5 billion by year-end from the current RM8.025 billion via the disposal of assets and was seeking to do so at a higher price.

The newly-appointed chairman also said after taking over the company seven weeks ago, he found that one of the biggest challenges facing Felda was the almost depleted cash flow position as a result of loans taken from banks.

“The weak cash flow problem is also due to low palm oil prices. The company will be submitting a white paper to the government to be tabled at the next parliamentary sitting.

“It will tackle various issues in Felda, including poor planning, governance and malpractices,” Megat Zaharuddin added. — Bernama