LETTER | Right of M'sians to call for immediate end to links with Blackrock

LETTER | I refer to the report “KINIGUIDE | MAHB deal: What is GIP and is it linked to Israel?”

According to the report, If the deal to privatise Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAHB) goes through, the consortium called Gateway Development Alliance Sdn Bhd (GDA) will own up to 67.1 percent of MAHB’s shares.

Khazanah Nasional Berhad (Khazanah) and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will hold a 40 percent and 30 percent stake in the consortium respectively.

The remaining 30 percent will be held by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) through a joint venture (JV) company called GIP Aurea Pte Ltd.

Financial newspaper The Edge reported that GIP will effectively hold a 25 percent stake in MAHB should the takeover take place since it owns up to 80 percent of the JV. Adia will only have a five percent effective stake.

Who are the parties to the GDA?

Khazanah is the country’s sovereign wealth fund and is owned by the Minister of Finance (Incorporated).

It invests across all levels of the Malaysian economy - from listed Malaysian companies to emerging sectors, as well as internationally across markets, asset classes, sectors and geographies.

EPF describes itself as one of the world’s oldest provident funds. Established in 1951, it helps “the Malaysian workforce to save for their retirement in accordance to the Employees Provident Fund Act 1991”.

The EPF calls the country’s workforce who contribute to the provident fund its members - rightly so.

New York-headquartered GIP is a leading infrastructure investor that specialises in owning and operating some of the largest and most complex assets across the energy, transport, digital infrastructure, and water and waste management sectors.

On Jan 12, GIP and Blackrock jointly announced that they had entered into an agreement for Blackrock to acquire GIP for a total consideration of $US3 billion of cash and approximately 12 million shares of Blackrock common stock.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024, subject to customary regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

Blackrock’s connection with Israel

Blackrock is one of the world’s leading providers of investment, advisory, and risk management solutions.

Its involvement in greasing the Israeli war machine is well-documented. Its headquarters in New York have been the scene of protests by pro-Palestinian groups accusing the company of profiting from genocide.

The company has also been targeted in the ongoing protests at US universities, where students are demanding their universities to divest from Israel - that is, withdraw funds their endowments have invested in companies that are linked to Israel.

Among the companies in which Blackrock has invested is Lockheed Martin, in which it holds a 7.4 percent stake.

Lockheed Martin is a US-based defence contractor with multibillion-dollar investments in the Israeli arms and aerospace industry.

The company recently hit the headlines in Malaysia after pro-Palestinian groups protested against its participation in Defence Services Asia (DSA) and National Security (Natsec) Asia exhibition in Kuala Lumpur.

Now, Malaysians who are members of the EPF have every right to call on the fund’s leaders to be aware of their humanitarian obligation to end all possible complicity with genocide, and therefore to immediately cease all links with Blackrock.

The call extends to Khazanah, the finance minister aka PMX, and the Madani government.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.