The scandal-ridden National Feedlot Corporation has claimed that the contract for its RM250 million soft loan from the government was signed in 2007.

This contradicts the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) finding that the company had received the sum before the contract was signed.

In a statement released today, the company claimed that the loan agreement was sealed long before a separate implementation agreement was signed on March 8, 2010.

NONE"NFC has clarified that the loan agreement between the government represented by the Ministry of Finance and NFC was signed on Dec 6, 2007, and not in 2010 as erroneously reported by some quarters," said NFC.

"The first drawdown of RM7 million was in January 2008. This, was in compliance with proper procedures.

"Beginning this year, NFC will start servicing its loan repayment as stipulated in its loan agreement.

NFC said the agreement covers a loan period of 20 years with the first three years as grace period. The repayment scheme, added, commences from the first day after the grace period in annual installments at 2 percent per annum over 17 years.

However, the company said it is optimistic that the repayment requirement can be fully met, based on projected revenue on increasing orders for beef and beef products. 

Last November, PAC chairperson Azmi Khalid had said that, after interviewing several Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Ministry officers, his committee found that the loan had been disbursed in 2009 and that the contract had been signed a year later in 2010.

Azmi said that other problems uncovered by the PAC were poor management, delays in approval and changes in goal of the NFC.

'Funds for beef production'

The embattled company, owned by Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil's family members, explained that the RM250 million loan was "entrusted to build a planned, sustained and integrated beef production business...".

NONE"In building the business – now in the fourth year of its operations - we have positioned ourselves to carry out this high impact project to include large scale commercial agriculture, satellite feedlot farming and other programmes that will support business and integrate the beef production," said executive director Wan Shahinur Izmir Salleh.

He also said the company is building an abattoir that has a capacity to slaughter up to 200 heads of cattle per day, as part of a strategy to further spur its business.

He said a working model similar to Felda’s oil palm scheme is also being studied to allow the business to be farmed out to interested parties who will grow the business in collaboration with the ‘master developer’.

“Once the contract farming component fully kicks off, NFC will be looking at slaughtering about 186,000 heads of cattle per year from 2015.

“This will be a tremendously different scene from what we see today, as discerning demand is the key driver of a burgeoning industry that is worth RM1.5 billion,” he said.

PKR had alleged that the company has been using the soft loan - which was meant for its cattle business - for unrelated expenses such as purchasing luxury condominiums, land in Putrajaya and travel expenses.


Related stories

'Probe Muhyiddin's role in approving NFC loan'

NFC fiasco just the tip of the iceberg

'Don't expect Shahrizat and family to pay'