Photo by Patrick Goh/The Edge

KUALA LUMPUR (July 10): The Ministry of Finance (MOF) has stressed that asset management firm BlackRock Inc was not involved in discussions carried out by members of the consortium led by Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Employees Provident Fund with regard to a 30% minority stake in Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd or MAHB (KL:LAIRPORT).

The ministry said the government was also informed by the consortium members that although Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) will be taken over by BlackRock later, GIP’s management will retain full control and responsibility for the strategic directions of GIP and its investee companies.

“This means GIP will continue to operate separately from BlackRock. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and GIP will also hold a 30% minority interest in MAHB. [Thus,] all important decisions on MAHB will only be implemented with the agreement of the consortium members,” it said in a written reply posted on the Parliament website on Tuesday.

Hence, the transaction did not involve BlackRock, the MOF said in reply to a query from Datuk Azman Nasrudin (Perikatan Nasional-Padang Serai), who sought to know the rationale for selling a 30% stake in MAHB, given that BlackRock is GIP’s future owner.

The MOF explained that the consortium is of the view that the privatisation of MAHB is the best move forward, as it would allow any decision and long-term investments to be expedited.

The consortium’s main areas of focus, it added, include completing high-priority capital projects, enhancing passenger experience at all airports, working closely with airline companies, accelerating capital investments, and developing secondary businesses around the airports.

In a written reply to Bernama recently, GIP also asserted that BlackRock was never involved in any transaction related to the restructuring of MAHB's shareholdings via the Gateway Development Alliance consortium.