FGV Group President / CEO Datuk Zakaria Arshad. SAMUEL ONG / THE STAR, 16TH MAY 2016.
KUALA LUMPUR: Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) group president and chief executive officer Datuk Zakaria Arshad, suspended since June 6 pending a probe into certain deals by a subsidiary, will resume his duties next Monday (Oct 16).
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Monday, the agri-business company said its special shareholder, The Minister of Finance (Inc) (MoF Inc), had reviewed the the findings of a domestic inquiry.
“After taking into consideration the ongoing FGV transformation programme and the GP/CEO’s commitment and assurance to resolve the long outstanding debt of Safitex Trading LLC (with FGV’s subsidiary Delima Oil Products Sdn Bhd), the special shareholder would like Datuk Zakaria to return as the GP/CEO of FGV,” it said.
FGV said MoF Inc had required that the domestic inquiry (DI) on Zakaria to be carried out “in line with integrity, spirit of impartiality of the ongoing inquiry and ensuring proper corporate governance.”
“The DI has been carried out with proper internal processes and the findings of the DI were submitted to the special shareholder in line with Article 80, of FGV’s memorandum and articles of association,” it added.
Three other FGV group senior executives who were suspended along with Zakaria had returned to work, the last one being group chief financial officer Ahmad Tifli Mohd Talha.
Zakaria, meanwhile, expressed his gratitude to the FGV board of directors and all who supported him during the episode. “I consider it a test from God to further strengthen my spirit to continue serving FGV for the benefit of shareholders and stakeholders,” he said in a separate statement.
FGV to have new management structure
In another press statement, FGV chairman Datuk Wira Azhar Abdul Hamid reiterated his commitment to turn around and bring the company to greater heights despite the various challenges faced at this time.
“My immediate priorities are to improve operational and financial performance of our core business and ensure sustainable growth going forward. Being one of the biggest palm oil plantation companies, FGV must aspire to be the industry leader in terms of productivity and financial returns, so any factors hindering us from achieving these objectives must be addressed immediately,” he said.
Azhar also mentioned that there was a need for a new management structure to strengthen the organisation going forward and to provide better focus towards achieving FGV’s strategic plans.
“The board composition will also be enhanced with the appointments of related subject matter experts to the board. The board will make the related announcements in due course,” he added.
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