PETALING JAYA (July 17): The financial performance of Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd (PNSB) has improved "by leaps and bounds" since Selangor came under the Pakatan Rakyat leadership, said DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua on Tuesday.
According to Pua, PNSB had seen a "massive increase" in cash reserves to RM92.9 million last year despite taking a RM230 million loan to acquire land from the Selangor government a year earlier.
"Contrary to frivolous allegations, the financial performance of PNSB has improved by leaps and bounds under the Pakatan Rakyat leadership," he said in a statement.
On July 12, MCA Young Professionals Bureau chief Datuk Chua Tee Yong accused the Selangor government of saddling PNSB with a RM316 million debt inclusive of an interest of RM89 million.
According to the Labis MP, PNSB had been forced to acquire land from Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI) as part of its debt restructuring exercise with Talam Corporation Bhd (now Trinity Corporation Bhd).
Pua, however, said that the profit and loss statements of PNSB showed that the company's total assets had increased to RM823.8 million in 2011 from RM111.4 million in 2008.
The Petaling Jaya Utara MP added that after four consecutive years of losses, PNSB chalked up an increase in its after-tax profits for three years from 2009 onwards and in 2011, it recorded a profit of RM28.4 million.
"More tellingly, PNSB's net tangible assets have improved by 17.7% from RM11.55 per share in 2009 to RM13.59 per share in 2011," Pua stated.
"How can Chua accuse PNSB of being forced to be indebted, when its financial turnaround from the days of Barisan Nasional has been nothing short of spectacular?"
Pua also asked why it was inappropriate for PNSB, a property developer, to acquire land for development and construction.
Chua, who is also the Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister, had earlier alleged that the Selangor government had "overpaid" for plots of land in Bestari Jaya and Danau Putra by RM42 million and RM57 million respectively.
He claimed that the plots were swamplands that required additional costs for earthworks and questioned the Selangor government's decision to acquire land with "potential complications and limited commercial value".