KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 17): FGV Holdings Bhd said its joint venture with IFFCO Group is unaffected for now amid reports that the United Arab Emirates firm is seeking to restructure debt of about US$1.5 billion (RM6.3 billion).
The joint venture, FGV IFFCO Group, operates three companies marketing vegetable oils, fats and derivatives, as well as providing logistics services for sales and distribution independently with minimal exposure to IFFCO’s corporate exercise, FGV said in a statement.
“All transactions are conducted under market-driven commercial terms, with FGV representatives on the boards and management to ensure sound governance and prudent management,” the company said.
FGV IFFCO Group comprises FGV IFFCO Sdn Bhd operating an oils and fats refinery in Port Klang, Kuala Lumpur trading subsidiary FGV IFFCO Trading Sdn Bhd, and FGV IFFCO France SA, a trading unit based in France.
IFFCO is a conglomerate with businesses across food, agriculture and consumer goods, and owns brands such as London Dairy ice cream, Tiffany biscuits and the LDC Kitchen & Coffee chain.
The statement comes on the heels of a Bloomberg report that IFFCO is restructuring at least US$1.5 billion of debt, in what could be one of the Middle East’s largest revamps in recent years.
FGV IFFCO Group, according to FGV, “remains resilient and continues to deliver value” with a profit of RM49 million year to date.
The joint-venture companies remain “resilient and unaffected by this exercise”, said FGV group chief executive officer Fakhrunniam Othman. “FGV wishes to reassure stakeholders that its joint ventures with IFFCO remain firm amid IFFCO Group’s ongoing exercise.”