Rm18bil Dividend To Govt In 2021 Doable Says Petronas

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Petronas group CEO says the dividend process is not a directive but based on a request from the government. (AFP pic)KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas can afford the RM18 billion dividend for the government that was announced under the 2021 budget. Anything more will be deliberated by the board, according to its president and group chief executive officer Tengku Muhammad Taufik Aziz.
“If you ask me now if the dividend of RM18 billion announced under the 2021 budget is something we can bear; my answer is yes. It is still within the affordability,” he said.
He said if there was any additional request by the government, it would be looked into and would be based from the perspective of liquidity and solvency as Petronas is governed by the Companies Act.
He reiterated that the dividend payout to the government will be based on its affordability after a rigorous due diligence on its financial commitment.
“Dividend process is not a directive (from the government), but based on a request for our consideration. We will fulfil the request if we have the means to do it,” he told Bernama.
Petronas group CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik Aziz.He said Petronas would examine the request and lay out its capital and working commitment. He also stressed that the national oil company would need to build its buffer should there be further market shocks, such as oil prices going down.
“After all of these are satisfied, and should they ask us and we can still afford it, then we will comply,” he said, adding that Petronas made a RM10 billion dividend payout to the government in November last year to help with the containment of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The RM10 billion was in addition to the RM24 billion paid last year. He noted that the oil price movement was a good metric to gauge possible dividend payouts.
The oil price is currently hovering above US$60 (RM242) per barrel.
Finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz had said that the company’s dividend to the government is based on its performance and taking into consideration its funding needs for operation, obligation and capital expenditure. - FMT

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