TODAY we feature some of the CEOs helming corporations in which the government has a direct interest.
They are Datuk Dr Md Khir Rahman of Telekom Malaysia Bhd, Datuk Hamad Kama Piah of Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin of Boustead Holdings, and Dr Radzuan Abdul Rahman of Island and Peninsular Bhd (I&P).
Khir heads a telco that has enormous resources at its disposal but is under-rated by investors. Khir feels that as a national telco, Telekom has certain social responsibilities that other telcos do not have to worry about. Nevertheless, he is confident that Telekom is in a very strong position now that its strategic initiatives in the fields of cellular, broadband and data are in place.
For Hamad, ensuring that the millions of PNB unit holders receive a good return on their investments has not been easy given the state of the local stock market in recent years.
But things are looking up for the equities market for 2004, and PNB is undertaking a strategic review of its plantation and property assets. While the ultimate corporate and organisational structure of its plantation and property assets remains a closely guarded secret, this much is clear: at the end of the day, PNB’s listed plantation and property companies will be among the biggest in the world.
But whether mega plantations and mega property companies will enhance value remains to be seen.
I&P is part of the PNB stable and the current plan is for I&P to become a property company, hiving off its estates to Golden Hope.
Though not in the league of PNB, Boustead is very much a diversified group, with interests in plantations, property, financial services and manufacturing. Lodin has been on the Boustead board since 1984. He is also chief executive of Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT), the controlling shareholder of Boustead.
They are Datuk Dr Md Khir Rahman of Telekom Malaysia Bhd, Datuk Hamad Kama Piah of Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin of Boustead Holdings, and Dr Radzuan Abdul Rahman of Island and Peninsular Bhd (I&P).