Let the experts decide on Plus bids, not politicians

QUESTION TIME | A newly revised offer for PLUS, effectively RM38.3 billion including debt, to improve marginally on what looked like the best offer till then for highway concessionaire PLUS Malaysia Bhd, has highlighted that earlier offers may have been grossly undervalued. Which is not to say that the new offers are fair - not yet.

There is simply not enough public information to indicate that the offers are strictly comparable. In valuing a toll concession which won’t expire until 2038, or 18 years from now, even a small difference in details can translate to a massive difference in terms of the total value.

It becomes more complex when some of them are asking for more than what is already on the table. There are some who still want government guarantees on the loan to continue, without any doubt whatsoever a direct government subsidy as it underwrites risk while forgoing profit...