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Malaysian airport deal faces Gaza war backlash

By Pramod Kumar
Organisations have protested US investment bank BlackRock’s participation in the bid to buy a stake in Malaysia Airports Holdings Malaysian Airline/X
Organisations have protested US investment bank BlackRock’s participation in the bid to buy a stake in Malaysia Airports Holdings
  • Malaysia Airports Holdings bid
  • US bank BlackRock in consortium
  • Protesters allege Israel links

Plans by a consortium, including the UAE’s largest sovereign wealth fund, to buy a stake in Malaysian airports have been hit by protests against the deal from local business organisations in the Asian country.

As many as 22 organisations have called upon the Malaysian government to block US investment bank BlackRock’s participation in the bid to buy a stake in Malaysia Airports Holdings (MAHB), Reuters reported, citing the group’s statement.

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The group, which includes the Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisations and Viva Palestina Malaysia, urged the state-backed Employees Provident Fund (EPF), a consortium partner, to break ties with BlackRock, alleging the bank’s relations with Israel.

In addition to BlackRock, some of the other partners in the consortium are Malaysian government-backed Khazanah Nasional, UAE’s Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), which has its headquarters in New York.

BlackRock said in January that it planned to buy GIP for $12.5 billion.

If the deal is completed, the Malaysian entities will collectively own 70 percent of MAHB. The UAE’s largest sovereign wealth fund ADIA and GIP will hold the remaining 30 percent.

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