This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on October 3, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: With RM3 billion invested in Malaysia so far, Lynas Corp Bhd said yesterday it is “heavily committed” to Malaysia and wants to be treated fairly and consistently, just like other companies operating in the country.

So far, the company had yet to receive a request from the Malaysian government for a review on the operations of its rare earth plant — one of the largest in the world — in Gebeng, Kuantan, Pahang.

“But we do hope the review will be fair and just,” said Lynas chief executive officer and managing director Amanda Lacaze during a press conference yesterday, adding the review should have a clearly defined scope, with all inquiries be open and made public.

She also asked that the company be given sufficient time to adapt to any new requirements or policies.

While Lacaze said she does not know what had prompted the review, she said Lynas acknowledges the “absolute right” of the government to conduct a review, and pledged that the company “will cooperate with confidence in our performance”.

She also revealed the company  is planning to spend another RM66 million to raise its production at Gebeng. The company is also in talks for a downstream operation here that started from a recent investors’ conference in Hong Kong.

“There were members of the government there promoting Malaysia, that it’s a great place for downstream operations. We’ve had several detailed discussions about downstream processes — but these are now on hold,” she added.

On the impact to the company if the plant is ordered to shut down, Lacaze said Lynas has not considered that, as Lynas has been an excellent corporate citizen, one that is transparent and operating in full compliance with the law.

Lynas called for the press conference following the government’s announcement that an evaluation committee has been set up to review Lynas’ project in Kuantan and that it would be led by Fuziah Salleh, a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and Kuantan member of parliament.

Following the announcement, the company’s shares tumbled over 24% to as low as A$1.59 on Sept 29, from A$2.10 on Saturday. It settled at A$1.64 yesterday.

In Lacaze’s open letter to the government and people of Malaysia, which she also read out yesterday, she reiterated Lynas’ concern that the committee is being chaired by a person who has openly admitted to being “anti-Lynas”. Also despite media reports about this committee, she said the company had yet to be notified about the committee’s membership, the scope of the review, and the terms of reference to be used.

Lacaze stressed the company’s operations in Gebeng are built based on the “zero harm” philosophy, be it to the communities around it or the environment.

“Independent monitoring confirms we have achieved this. We are compliant with our licence conditions and we work closely with Malaysian regulators to identify ways to continuously improve our operations,” Lacaze said.