Najib says govt open to selling Silterra stake to foreign investors

BERLIN: The Malaysian government is open to Khazanah Nasional Bhd selling its stake in Silterra Malaysia Sdn Bhd to foreign investors but only at the right price, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Thursday.

The government's strategic investment arm has a 98 per cent stake in the chip foundry. Talk of selling either a stake or the entire company has been around since 2008.

Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said attempts to encourage local companies to buy the stake in Silterra have not been fruitful.

"We have given every opportunity to the local partners or local players to try to take over Silterra but they have not been able to come up with the necessary resources to do so. Now we are open to foreign companies," he told Malaysian media at the end of his three-day official visit to Germany.

"But it is not going to be at any price. It is going to be a price that is acceptable to us and ensure that Silterra's operations will benefit Malaysia as well," he said when asked if German wafer fab company X-Fab Silicon Foundries has offered any proposal for the stake.

Najib, who had a bilateral meeting with X-Fab Chief Executive Officer Rudi De Winter during his visit here, neither confirmed nor denied such a proposal.

X-Fab owns a 65 per cent stake in X-Fab Sarawak Sdn Bhd, with the remaining 35 per cent held by the Sarawak state government. - Bernama