How real is $400 million debt recovery by MUI?

Saw this in the Star

PETALING JAYA: The Kuala Lumpur High Court has ordered the winding up of companies owing monies to Malayan United Industries Bhd a total outstanding receivables of RM427.75mil.

In an announcement, the company said that the debtors consisted receivables of RM245.6mil as principal and accrued interest of RM182.1mil as of Sept 30. “At this stage, the company is not able to estimate the exact time period for recovery of the outstanding sums,” it said.

The questions run at the back of my mind were who are the debtors and do they have the ability to pay back ?

The answer to the first question. Hope Foundation or Yayasan MUI who has been alleged that Khoo transferred $ 400 million to this foundation a long time ago during his down fall -- that I could not verify. You may want to read this here

 http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/40479-tan-sri-dato-dr-khoo-kay-peng

The second part of the question, which is more important, do Hope Foundation has the money? It is seems that KKP has made a series of calculated moves trying to unlock the value in PMI and also their holdings in MUI. Hope foundation has been disposing shares from the height of 441 million shares in MUI down to zero in September 2011. That itself at average price of RM 0.25/share would have raised at least RM $ 110 million. They disposal in PMI is estimated around $ 20 - 30 million. Hope Foundation would have raised at least $ 130 - $ 140 million. I suspected Hope Foundation subsidiaries must have more assets or money that hidden somewhere to be unlocked. The liquidation may take some time and let say MUI manage to recover at least 75% of $ 427 million, that will work out to be around RM $  0.14 / share.

Sometime in April this year, MUI announced that they will sell their insurance arm MUI Continental to Tokio Marine for RM 180 million. MUI owns 52% of MUI Continental and that will work out to be around RM 90 million or 0.03 / share.

There are a series of other properties that have not be revalued 20 – 30 years ago. I have done a calculation a few years back it was worth close to RM 1.1 billion or RM $ 0.375/share.

Just ignore on other items, this itself already worth close to $ 0.545/share.

The last part of the question, so what if you have unlocked the value? Will you return the cash to shareholders ? KKP and their friends have a large holding in MUI and looking at the moves intensity that they are making, I do not think they will want to do all the hard work for nothing.

Disclosure: I have some picked up some shares recently below RM 0.22.