COMMENT | Sime Darby, SP Setia, EPF lose billions from Battersea

COMMENT | Three Malaysian entities - the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Sime Darby Property, and SP Setia are likely to shoulder losses of some RM250 million a quarter or RM1 billion a year from a five-year rental guarantee at the iconic Battersea development in London.

SP Setia and Sime Darby each have 40 percent in the venture while EPF has 20 percent.

The guarantees, reportedly for a period of five years, were given by the Battersea Power Station redevelopment project in London to buyers to encourage sales but the company is now saddled with a huge payment for income not met by purchasers.

It’s a standout example of how larger Malaysian entities have been seduced into making huge investments in markets they don’t quite understand and which can be quite volatile in search not just for profits but prestige and recognition overseas.

In July 2013 at a glitzy ceremony in London, the Battersea project organised a ground-breaking ceremony for their highly anticipated redevelopment project, worth some £8 billion (then RM40 billion) in gross development value.