In the Dewan Rakyat on a late October day, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim did something governments rarely do: he conceded that a costly foreign venture was priced too high at the start and has produced losses. The Battersea Power Station redevelopment in London, funded by a Malaysian consortium with more than five billion euros of domestic savings and pension money, has become a mirror in which the nation is asked to examine how it sends its capital abroad. The lesson he drew is not that money should stay at home, but that the beginning of a deal deserves more scrutiny than the hope that carrie
Anwar Says Battersea Losses Must Guide Scrutiny of Overseas Investments
The initial investment was too high and incurred losses.
Mark
Why does a single remark in Question Time matter so much?
Mimi
Because the prime minister agreed with the criticism. He said the initial investment in Battersea was too high and incurred losses, which is a rare admission about a project backed by major Malaysian institutions.
Mark
Who is actually invested in it?
Mimi
SP Setia, Sime Darby Property, the EPF and PNB. Together they have put in more than five billion euros.
Mark
And the question came from his own side?
Mimi
Yes. Hassan Abdul Karim of Pasir Gudang, from Pakatan Harapan, asked why billions went abroad when domestic investment was an option.
Luke
Worth saying what we don't know. No loss figure was given, and the reporting doesn't say how big the losses are.
Mark
So what does rehabilitation mean here?
Luke
Anwar said the project is being rehabilitated and that efforts are underway to turn it around. The report gives no detail on what those efforts are or how far along they are.
Mimi
He also didn't turn against overseas investing altogether. He said some, even a substantial proportion, have produced high returns.
Mark
And the domestic push?
Luke
GLICs were initially expected to put at least 20 percent locally, to be raised as capacity allows. No new target was announced, and no specific scrutiny mechanism either.
Le Pouls
- A backbench challenge from Pasir Gudang's Hassan Abdul Karim put billions of ringgit sunk in London squarely on the parliamentary floor.
- The Prime Minister's rare admission that the initial Battersea investment was too high and generated losses has jolted the debate over overseas spending.
- With EPF and PNB among the consortium's backers, pension savings and national investment institutions are suddenly under public examination.
- Rehabilitation of the 42-acre project is under way, but no loss figure or recovery timeline has been offered, leaving the outcome unsettled.
- Government is steering GLICs toward a 20 percent minimum local allocation, with the share expected to rise, while calls for tighter overseas oversight gather pace.
In the Dewan Rakyat on a late October day, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim did something governments rarely do: he conceded that a costly foreign venture was priced too high at the start and has produced losses. The Battersea Power Station redevelopment in London, funded by a Malaysian consortium with more than five billion euros of domestic savings and pension money, has become a mirror in which the nation is asked to examine how it sends its capital abroad. The lesson he drew is not that money should stay at home, but that the beginning of a deal deserves more scrutiny than the hope that carries it forward.
On Tuesday, October 27, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim stood in the Dewan Rakyat and told lawmakers that Malaysia must look harder at its overseas investments so that the experience at London's Battersea Power Station is not repeated. It was a rare, direct concession from the head of government about a project that has long unsettled people at home.
He was answering Hassan Abdul Karim, the Pasir Gudang member of parliament, who had questioned the billions sunk into the redevelopment and argued that the money could have been put to work domestically. Anwar did not dispute the point. He agreed that certain past decisions deserved criticism, said the initial investment was too high and produced losses, and noted that efforts are now underway to turn the project around.
The scheme is a 42-acre mixed-use regeneration led by a Malaysian consortium of SP Setia, Sime Darby Property, the Employees Provident Fund and Permodalan Nasional. Malaysian shareholders have put in more than five billion euros. The presence of EPF and PNB gives the question particular weight, though the prime minister gave no figure for the losses and no timeline for recovery.
He placed the matter within broader policy. Over the past three years the government has favored domestic investment, and government-linked investment companies were initially expected to put at least 20 percent of their funds at home, with that share to rise as each institution's capacity allows. Several bodies, including KWAN, KWAP, Khazanah and PNB, are still exploring opportunities both locally and abroad.
Anwar stopped short of condemning overseas investment outright, acknowledging that many such ventures have delivered high returns. The lesson he drew from Battersea was about scrutiny and the price paid at the outset. What comes next is whether that call becomes concrete oversight of overseas deals, and whether the local allocation target is lifted from its starting point.
On Tuesday, October 27, in the Dewan Rakyat, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told lawmakers that Malaysia must look harder at its overseas investments so that what happened at London's Battersea Power Station is not repeated. It was an unusually direct concession from the head of government about a project that has long drawn questions at home.
He was speaking during Prime Minister's Question Time, responding to Hassan Abdul Karim, the Pasir Gudang member of parliament from Pakatan Harapan. Hassan had questioned the billions of ringgit sunk into the Battersea development and argued that the money could have gone into domestic investments instead.
Anwar did not push back. He said he agreed with the calls and criticisms over certain decisions made in the past. The initial investment, he said, was too high and resulted in losses. He added that efforts are now being made to turn the project around, and that it is being rehabilitated. His conclusion was plain: the country should be careful and make sure the Battersea experience is not repeated.
The project at the center of the exchange is the 42-acre Battersea Power Station redevelopment, a large mixed-use regeneration scheme led by a Malaysian consortium. The consortium comprises SP Setia Bhd, Sime Darby Property Bhd, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB). Malaysian shareholders have put more than five billion euros into the development to date.
The presence of EPF and PNB in that list is part of why the question carries weight in parliament, since both are major institutions in the country's investment landscape. The prime minister did not, in the remarks reported, give a figure for the losses or say how far the rehabilitation has progressed.
Anwar also placed the issue within the wider direction of government policy. Over the past three years, he said, the government has prioritised domestic investment. Government-linked investment companies, known as GLICs, were initially expected to allocate at least 20 percent of their investments locally, and that share would be raised according to each institution's readiness and capacity.
He named the institutions still exploring opportunities both at home and abroad: the National Trust Fund (KWAN), the Retirement Fund (KWAP), Khazanah Nasional Bhd and PNB.
He stopped short of a blanket case against investing overseas. We cannot deny, he said, that some, or even a substantial proportion, of overseas investments have generated high returns, as the figures show. The lesson he drew from Battersea was therefore about scrutiny and the price paid at the outset, not about keeping capital inside the country.
What to watch next is whether the call for greater scrutiny turns into concrete oversight measures for overseas deals, and whether the local allocation target for GLICs is raised from its 20 percent starting point.
Citations marquantes
I agree, we must be careful and ensure what happened with the Battersea investment in the UK is not repeated.— Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Dewan Rakyat, October 27
Some, or even a substantial proportion, of overseas investments have generated high returns, as the figures show.— Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim
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