[Bolehland] - Malaysian Govt invested S$48 million into KidZania Singapore, which was then sold off for S$110K! Anwar angrily demands investigation!

[UltimaOnline]

https://mothership.sg/2023/06/anwar-kidzania-khazanah/

 

[syed putra]

Because of NEP, jiu hu gomen slowly resembles a communist state without them realising it. GLC and crony monopoly created by dr m dominates the economy snd even after dr m left, none of the other PM dared to dismantle it for some strange reason.

This kidzania and the studio in jb is a good example of glc business.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

M'sian PM Anwar questioned about KidZania S'pore's reported sale at S$110,000 after S$48 million investment by M'sian sovereign wealth fund
Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah has denied the allegations.

Tan Min-Wei |


June 17, 2023, 06:36 PM



Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd has denied selling defunct theme park KidZania Singapore for S$110,000.

Pennies on the dollar
Malaysian news outlet The Vibes initially reported on Jun. 16 that Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund was "believed" to have invested more than S$48 million into the attraction in Sentosa, only to sell it off for S$110,000.

The theme park, which opened in 2016, reportedly recorded S$8.3 million in losses and by the time it closed in 2020, owed S$53.4 million to its creditors, with 93 per cent of the amount owed to a Khazanah subsidiary.

When the attraction closed in 2020, its Facebook page had customers asking about refunds for annual pass purchases, as well as other associated purchases.

According to the New Straits Times, the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic was the given reason for Rakan Riang Pte Ltd, the company running KidZania, to close the theme park and voluntarily liquidate.

Rakan Riang is a subsidiary of Destination Resorts and Hotels Sdn Bhd (DRH).

DRH, formerly known as Themed Attractions Resorts & Hotels Sdn Bhd (TARH), is a Khazanah subsidiary.

However, The Vibes reports that Rakan Riang had reported S$87.8 million in losses by 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

This comes after the sovereign wealth fund had the Iskandar Malaysia Studios sold off to a foreign TV company, for US$8 million (S$10.75 million), which, according to Variety, "crystallised more than US$100 million (S$134 million) of losses".

Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was questioned about it as he left Friday prayers on Jun. 16 by Malaysian newspaper Utusan Malaysia.

Utusan described the sale and the reported price as "unreasonable".

Anwar responded by saying that the government would meet with Khazanah to further discuss the issue of the sale.

Non-profit organisation
Khazanah has come out to rebut the news of the sale, saying that they had not sold KidZania Singapore to the new owner, Sim Leisure Group for S$110,000, according to the New Straits Times.

Instead, Sim Leisure had bought all non-movable assets from the liquidator, and had negotiated a franchise license with the license owner, KidZania Mexico.

Khazanah further said that the decision of Sim Leisure group was unrelated to DRH or any of their subsidiaries, which includes Rakan Riang Pte Ltd.

It further added that the premises, land and space, where the theme park had operated was owned by a third party, and not by DRH or its subsidiaries.

Sim Leisure had independently secured an agreement with Sentosa Development Corp to lease the space where KidZania Singapore was situated, and has also been granted the relevant permissions from KidZania's Mexican parent company in order to restart the Singapore park.

Sim Leisure has also bought over KidZania theme park in Malaysia previously, in 2021. That theme park was previously operated by Rakan Riang Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian company also connected to DRH and Khazanah, The Vibes reported.

Rakan Riang reportedly failed to generate any profit from operating the theme park before its sale.

However, by end-2022, Sim Leisure has received RM 6.46 million (S$1.9 million) in profits from the Malaysian park.

Meanwhile, KidZania Singapore is slated to reopen in the first quarter of 2024, and will introduce a suite of new attractions and experiences including YouTube Entrepreneur, Animation Studio and Makers Space.

Related stories
Top image via Anwar Ibrahim/Facebook


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[A Singaporean]

Learned from Ho Jinx. Buy high sell low.

 

[syed putra]

The company that bought it owned by a Malaysian. He started a adventure type theme oark where you vlimb trees, swing from trees, swim, slide in penang maybe 15 years ago and it was so successful, he replicate this all over china i heard.

 

[Loofydralb]

Stupid Malaysian govt doesn't realise they SG will sabotage every investment they make.

 

[batman1]

One investment with many complex franchise ljcences.

 

[rushifa666]

So forget the twists and turns in the end hiw much was the sale? The response is already suspicious