EPF negotiating for RM1.28bil loan to refinance UK assets

(FILES) This file photo taken on July 4, 2013 shows a general view of Battersea Power Station in central London. Global technology colossus Apple on Wednesday announced plans to create a London headquarters in the iconic Battersea Power Station on the banks of the River Thames. Around 1,400 staff from eight existing offices in London will relocate to the renovated landmark, whose distinctive chimneys have towered over the central neighbourhood of Battersea since the 1930s. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Oli SCARFF

KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is seeking to refinance its assets in the United Kingdom to help protect against volatilities in foreign currency and exchange rates by taking a loan of RM1.28bil.

In response to a Whatsapp message being circulated on a purported RM12bil loan taken by it from Standard Chartered and DBS, the fund said in a statement on its website that offshore financing reduced the foreign currency exposure of the global real estate investment and, therefore, was part of investment best practice.

“The deal is being undertaken through our subsidiary Kwasa Global and is still under negotiation, though the loan amount involved is RM1.28bil, and not RM12bil as has been stated in the WhatsApp,” EPF said.
 
It added that all investment decisions made by the EPF were in accordance with its risk-return profile, “in line with ensuring that members’ retirement savings are safe and well managed.”

It was reported by Bloomberg last month that the fund has a UK property portfolio worth more than £2bil (RM10.2bil). However, EPF chief executive officer Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan had said the fund’s exposure to UK properties was small at between 1% and 1.5% of its overseas portfolio.

Among EPF's high-profile exposure to the UK market is its 20% interest in the Battersea Power Station redevelopment in London.