Financial scandals forcing state investors to sell London properties, says FT
(TMI) – Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) and other state investors are cashing out of the London property market and being forced to repatriate funds home as the country grapples with financial scandals linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), the Financial Times (FT) reported today.
The sale of KWAP’s 18-storey office building at 88 Wood Street, for which it paid £215 million in 2013, is under way, and comes as Malaysia struggles with plunging oil prices and a battered ringgit, the financial daily says.
Last year, KWAP sold One Sheldon Square in Paddington, owned jointly with the Employees Provident Fund (EFP), for £210 million (RM1.26 billion).
The FT report said the sales highlighted the health of Malaysia’s state sector, still reeling from the 1MDB scandal, and now dealing with revelations that Swiss authorities are investigating some US$4 billion (RM16.8 billion) misappropriated from Malaysian state companies.
“The London property investors are also taking the chance to bank big gains, as evidence mounts that prices for commercial buildings are coming off highs,” FT said, adding that Malaysian institutions had invested almost £2.4 billion in the city since 2011.
