Halim Saad
Encyclopedia
Tan Sri Halim Saad is a Malaysian born business man.
He was highly connected to former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad and former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin
Born the eighth of nine children in rural Perlis state, Tan Sri Halim Saad was a stellar student whose academic record got him into the elite Malay College at Kuala Kangsar. From there he went on to Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand on a scholarship which he holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration degree . After qualifying as an accountant, he returned to Malaysia in the late 1970s, joined Ford Motor and settled down with his bank-executive wife. (Divorce)
He was formerly the Executive Chairman Renong/UEM World Berhad and the Executive Vice Chairman of UEM Builders Berhad, PLUS Berhad,Director of Kinta Kellas Berhad and Faber Group Berhad. Renong in turn controls UEM Group and both companies were high-profile organizations in Malaysia's economy and politics.In July 2001, Tan Sri Halim Saad was forced to relinquished control of the Renong group to the government of Malaysia, purportedly because of political setback.
On the business front, Tan Sri Halim Saad was eager to prove himself. "He was a manager driven with a vision," says close associates. "He felt he was performing a national service. He would not say no to any project the Malaysian government dreamed up." His first project was to have UE(M) build and operate the North-South Expressway (PLUS by its Malay initials), an 800-km toll road that runs from Thailand through Malaysia to Singapore. Construction began in 1988 and was completed in 1994, one year ahead of schedule.
Often described as a construction magnate, he has built the Renong Group into one of the largest companies listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. Renong diverse interests includes building construction, highway and bridge construction, tolled road operators, light rail transport development, stadiums, new township planning and development, telecommunication, production and distribution of cement, trading of pharmaceutical products, fibre-optic networks and hotel management.
For much of his tenure as chairman of Renong, Tan Sri Halim Saad has been the poster boy of Malaysian business. Courted by bankers, he borrowed large sums to finance rapid growth. In turn, Renong helped build modern Malaysia.
In, 1994, he was listed in TIME Magazine’s Global 100, which identified the magazine’s choice of young leaders who would define the coming age and who have broken new ground or shaped society in inventive ways.
For all the controversy dogging Halim, his companies have played an important role in modernizing Malaysia. The PLUS highway has served to integrate the country as never before.
Halim Saad speech at Young Corporate Malaysians available on youtube:
Young Corporate Malaysians 2009 - TBHG Tan Sri Halim Saad, Former CEO & Chairman, Renong Bhd.
INTERVIEWS:
Tan Sri Halim Saad Speaks Up: Gross Injustice Done to Me
If I was not forced out, and were given a free hand to manage the group, I would have been able to take advantage of the subsequent improvement in the economic conditions to list PLUS, realise the full potential of the Nusajaya land bank and grow the overall assets and business of the Renong/UEM Group.
Q: Some of the strongest criticisms against you have been on the purchase by UEM of Renong shares after the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the following put and call option attached to the sale.
A: There have been certain false statements made against me relating to my put and call option on the Renong shares purchased earlier by UEM. Some went on to say that the subsequent cancellation of the put option by UEM was a bailout of me. I feel the need to correct the misstatements made and shed light on the actual events that took place at the time.
Following the 1997 Asian financial crisis, UEM undertook the purchase of a 32.6 per cent interest in Renong Bhd (its parent company) in the open market. These shares were not purchased from me or parties related to me.
To appease the minority shareholders, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, then the Minister of Finance and I agreed that I buy the shares for RM3.2 billion from UEM by way of a put option, although I was under no obligation to do so. I also had to pay a deposit of RM100 million.
At the UEM Extraordinary Meeting held on February 14, 1998 to ratify the acquisition of the 32.6 per cent interest in Renong, 85 per cent of UEM shareholders voted in favour.
Q: What steps did you take to fulfil the put option?
A: Going forward, I had the option of honouring the put option amounting to RM3.2 billion or making a general offer (GO) for all of UEM, which would have made UEM wholly owned by me and the put option would have extinguished by itself. The GO would have been undertaken at a price which would have been fair and satisfactory to all shareholders of UEM.
A Singapore-based investment bank was willing to fund the GO or put option. In view of the introduction of capital controls in September 1998, I sought the assurance of Bank Negara that the money required to fund the exercise could be brought in and taken out of the country at a later date.
Later, at a meeting with Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, who was then the Economic Adviser to the government, he said: “In no uncertain terms are you to continue with your proposed GO (to take over UEM or Renong) or proceed with the put option (placed on you by UEM).”
This and subsequent actions by the government forced me to sell off the group to Khazanah Nasional. A takeover by the government or Khazanah would not have succeeded if I had not given my support. I did confirm my support by way of a letter.
Q: You consequently left the Renong and UEM board late in 2001 following the takeover of Renong/UEM by Khazanah Nasional. Do you think that the takeover was necessary?
A: I left the Renong/UEM Board on October 3, 2001. Among the reasons put forward by the authorities for the Khazanah takeover of Renong/UEM Group were to prevent a systemic risk to the banking system in Malaysia and to enable a sustained restructuring of the group. This statement was in my opinion unjustified for the following reasons:
1) Renong/UEM was not in a situation where it required a bailout. There was never any bailout. Some writers and analysts have got it wrong. The bonds issued by PLUS/UEM/Renong in 1999 were A-rated and were adequately secured by the group’s internal assets and PLUS (Projek Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan Berhad) cash-flows. Furthermore, they were only due for redemption in mid-2006 and the rating was never downgraded. As such, there was no question of a systemic risk to the banking system in Malaysia.
2) The Renong/UEM Group was fully restructured by mid-2001, except for Putra (running light rail transit line), which was a standalone debt, and the group’s prized assets were PLUS, the Nusajaya land-bank and Time DotCom.
3) Most of the debts were project financing and infrastructure-based, where it is common to have a debt-to-equity ratio of 80:20.
During my tenure, the Group companies paid all their debts in full (principal and interest), without being granted any haircuts. Taking into account the size of the group and the extent of its borrowings, no other company listed in Bursa Malaysia can boast of a similar track record.
4) Nine months after I left Renong/UEM, PLUS was listed on the then KLSE (Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange), thereby proving that PLUS was ready for listing during my tenure. I had not rushed it because we had up to the year 2006 when the PLUS bonds were due for redemption and we would have gotten better valuation for the shares.
5) As part of Time DotCom’s restructuring, Singtel (the Singapore-based telecommunication service provider) offered RM2.1 billion for a 20 per cent interest in Time DotCom and 108.2 million shares in Time Engineering Bhd.
Singtel valued Time DotCom at around RM8 billion. Moreover, Singtel would have brought value in terms of expertise and skills to grow the business of Time DotCom. At the last minute, I was stopped from proceeding with the Singtel deal and because of time constraints I was forced to accept the less attractive alternative.
Based on the facts I have mentioned, it is clear that I have always had the intention and the ability to honour the call and put option, or alternatively undertake the GO for UEM. Furthermore, despite the Asian financial crisis of 1997, the Renong/UEM group was substantially restructured at the time of my forced departure.
In summary, a gross injustice has been done to me especially when I was denied or stopped from making the payment of RM3.2 billion for the UEM put option/GO and proceeding with Singtel on the RM2.1 billion deal, both of which would have substantially reduced the Group debt of some RM20 billion, most of which were project-related anyway.
Some other companies, like the Lion Group/Amsteel (with RM15 billion in group assets), whose RM10.2 billion debt was mainly neither project-related nor cash flow-based, were not touched and instead given preferential treatment, like exemption from burdensome import duties and granted Approved Permits.
If I was not forced out, and were given a free hand to manage the group, I would have been able to take advantage of the subsequent improvement in the economic conditions to list PLUS, realise the full potential of the Nusajaya land bank and grow the overall assets and business of the Renong/UEM Group.
He was highly connected to former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad and former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin
Born the eighth of nine children in rural Perlis state, Tan Sri Halim Saad was a stellar student whose academic record got him into the elite Malay College at Kuala Kangsar. From there he went on to Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand on a scholarship which he holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration degree . After qualifying as an accountant, he returned to Malaysia in the late 1970s, joined Ford Motor and settled down with his bank-executive wife. (Divorce)
He was formerly the Executive Chairman Renong/UEM World Berhad and the Executive Vice Chairman of UEM Builders Berhad, PLUS Berhad,Director of Kinta Kellas Berhad and Faber Group Berhad. Renong in turn controls UEM Group and both companies were high-profile organizations in Malaysia's economy and politics.In July 2001, Tan Sri Halim Saad was forced to relinquished control of the Renong group to the government of Malaysia, purportedly because of political setback.
On the business front, Tan Sri Halim Saad was eager to prove himself. "He was a manager driven with a vision," says close associates. "He felt he was performing a national service. He would not say no to any project the Malaysian government dreamed up." His first project was to have UE(M) build and operate the North-South Expressway (PLUS by its Malay initials), an 800-km toll road that runs from Thailand through Malaysia to Singapore. Construction began in 1988 and was completed in 1994, one year ahead of schedule.
Often described as a construction magnate, he has built the Renong Group into one of the largest companies listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. Renong diverse interests includes building construction, highway and bridge construction, tolled road operators, light rail transport development, stadiums, new township planning and development, telecommunication, production and distribution of cement, trading of pharmaceutical products, fibre-optic networks and hotel management.
For much of his tenure as chairman of Renong, Tan Sri Halim Saad has been the poster boy of Malaysian business. Courted by bankers, he borrowed large sums to finance rapid growth. In turn, Renong helped build modern Malaysia.
In, 1994, he was listed in TIME Magazine’s Global 100, which identified the magazine’s choice of young leaders who would define the coming age and who have broken new ground or shaped society in inventive ways.
For all the controversy dogging Halim, his companies have played an important role in modernizing Malaysia. The PLUS highway has served to integrate the country as never before.
Halim Saad speech at Young Corporate Malaysians available on youtube:
Young Corporate Malaysians 2009 - TBHG Tan Sri Halim Saad, Former CEO & Chairman, Renong Bhd.
INTERVIEWS:
Tan Sri Halim Saad Speaks Up: Gross Injustice Done to Me
If I was not forced out, and were given a free hand to manage the group, I would have been able to take advantage of the subsequent improvement in the economic conditions to list PLUS, realise the full potential of the Nusajaya land bank and grow the overall assets and business of the Renong/UEM Group.
Q: Some of the strongest criticisms against you have been on the purchase by UEM of Renong shares after the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the following put and call option attached to the sale.
A: There have been certain false statements made against me relating to my put and call option on the Renong shares purchased earlier by UEM. Some went on to say that the subsequent cancellation of the put option by UEM was a bailout of me. I feel the need to correct the misstatements made and shed light on the actual events that took place at the time.
Following the 1997 Asian financial crisis, UEM undertook the purchase of a 32.6 per cent interest in Renong Bhd (its parent company) in the open market. These shares were not purchased from me or parties related to me.
To appease the minority shareholders, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, then the Minister of Finance and I agreed that I buy the shares for RM3.2 billion from UEM by way of a put option, although I was under no obligation to do so. I also had to pay a deposit of RM100 million.
At the UEM Extraordinary Meeting held on February 14, 1998 to ratify the acquisition of the 32.6 per cent interest in Renong, 85 per cent of UEM shareholders voted in favour.
Q: What steps did you take to fulfil the put option?
A: Going forward, I had the option of honouring the put option amounting to RM3.2 billion or making a general offer (GO) for all of UEM, which would have made UEM wholly owned by me and the put option would have extinguished by itself. The GO would have been undertaken at a price which would have been fair and satisfactory to all shareholders of UEM.
A Singapore-based investment bank was willing to fund the GO or put option. In view of the introduction of capital controls in September 1998, I sought the assurance of Bank Negara that the money required to fund the exercise could be brought in and taken out of the country at a later date.
Later, at a meeting with Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, who was then the Economic Adviser to the government, he said: “In no uncertain terms are you to continue with your proposed GO (to take over UEM or Renong) or proceed with the put option (placed on you by UEM).”
This and subsequent actions by the government forced me to sell off the group to Khazanah Nasional. A takeover by the government or Khazanah would not have succeeded if I had not given my support. I did confirm my support by way of a letter.
Q: You consequently left the Renong and UEM board late in 2001 following the takeover of Renong/UEM by Khazanah Nasional. Do you think that the takeover was necessary?
A: I left the Renong/UEM Board on October 3, 2001. Among the reasons put forward by the authorities for the Khazanah takeover of Renong/UEM Group were to prevent a systemic risk to the banking system in Malaysia and to enable a sustained restructuring of the group. This statement was in my opinion unjustified for the following reasons:
1) Renong/UEM was not in a situation where it required a bailout. There was never any bailout. Some writers and analysts have got it wrong. The bonds issued by PLUS/UEM/Renong in 1999 were A-rated and were adequately secured by the group’s internal assets and PLUS (Projek Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan Berhad) cash-flows. Furthermore, they were only due for redemption in mid-2006 and the rating was never downgraded. As such, there was no question of a systemic risk to the banking system in Malaysia.
2) The Renong/UEM Group was fully restructured by mid-2001, except for Putra (running light rail transit line), which was a standalone debt, and the group’s prized assets were PLUS, the Nusajaya land-bank and Time DotCom.
3) Most of the debts were project financing and infrastructure-based, where it is common to have a debt-to-equity ratio of 80:20.
During my tenure, the Group companies paid all their debts in full (principal and interest), without being granted any haircuts. Taking into account the size of the group and the extent of its borrowings, no other company listed in Bursa Malaysia can boast of a similar track record.
4) Nine months after I left Renong/UEM, PLUS was listed on the then KLSE (Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange), thereby proving that PLUS was ready for listing during my tenure. I had not rushed it because we had up to the year 2006 when the PLUS bonds were due for redemption and we would have gotten better valuation for the shares.
5) As part of Time DotCom’s restructuring, Singtel (the Singapore-based telecommunication service provider) offered RM2.1 billion for a 20 per cent interest in Time DotCom and 108.2 million shares in Time Engineering Bhd.
Singtel valued Time DotCom at around RM8 billion. Moreover, Singtel would have brought value in terms of expertise and skills to grow the business of Time DotCom. At the last minute, I was stopped from proceeding with the Singtel deal and because of time constraints I was forced to accept the less attractive alternative.
Based on the facts I have mentioned, it is clear that I have always had the intention and the ability to honour the call and put option, or alternatively undertake the GO for UEM. Furthermore, despite the Asian financial crisis of 1997, the Renong/UEM group was substantially restructured at the time of my forced departure.
In summary, a gross injustice has been done to me especially when I was denied or stopped from making the payment of RM3.2 billion for the UEM put option/GO and proceeding with Singtel on the RM2.1 billion deal, both of which would have substantially reduced the Group debt of some RM20 billion, most of which were project-related anyway.
Some other companies, like the Lion Group/Amsteel (with RM15 billion in group assets), whose RM10.2 billion debt was mainly neither project-related nor cash flow-based, were not touched and instead given preferential treatment, like exemption from burdensome import duties and granted Approved Permits.
If I was not forced out, and were given a free hand to manage the group, I would have been able to take advantage of the subsequent improvement in the economic conditions to list PLUS, realise the full potential of the Nusajaya land bank and grow the overall assets and business of the Renong/UEM Group.