FIC Properties Sdn Bhd (FICP), a subsidiary of the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), still owes RM2.77 billion on the loan it took to acquire a stake in a unit of the Indonesia-based Rajawali Group, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said principal and profit payments totalling RM141.8 million have been made to Govco Holdings Bhd, a unit of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, as of Sept 30.
FICP signed a 20-year Tawarruq financing agreement with Govco for the loan repayment, which is scheduled to run until 2043.
“The next scheduled repayment of RM25 million is due on Oct 13, 2025. Felda, through FICP, reaffirms its commitment to meeting all repayment obligations according to the agreed schedule,” Zahid said in a written parliamentary reply on Thursday.
He was responding to Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Jidin (Perikatan Nasional-Putrajaya), who enquired about the amount of interest paid on the loan and the remaining principal balance.
The loan was taken to purchase a 37% stake in PT Eagle High Plantations Tbk from Tan Sri Peter Sondakh’s Rajawali Group in Indonesia for US$505.4 million (RM2.26 billion) in 2017.
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The acquisition was met with criticism at the time due to the high price tag and was undertaken on the assurance that Eagle High would obtain Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification within 30 months.
However, the Indonesian group, controlled by Sondakh — a close associate of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak — failed to secure the RSPO certification. This led Felda, in January 2019, to issue its first put option to sell the stake back to Rajawali.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said previously revealed that PT Rajawali Capital International (RCI) and PT Rajawali Corpora (RC) were required to pay US$678.09 million to repurchase the stake.
Rajawali disputed this, and both parties subsequently engaged in a back-and-forth series of arbitrations.
The first arbitration was in favour of Eagle High. Felda then attempted to exercise the put option a second time in May 2022, which Rajawali again contested. In 2024, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) ruled in favour of Felda.
In February this year, RCI and RC again challenged the SIAC award at the Central Jakarta District Court, and there has been no update on the case since.
Nevertheless, in his parliamentary reply, Zahid said Felda and FICP are currently considering the available options to recognise and implement the award, without providing further details.
