Petronas remains committed to pay govt RM18 bln dividend

KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam National Bhd (Petronas) has reiterated its commitment to pay a dividend of RM18 billion to the government as announced in Budget 2021, said president and group chief executive officer, Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz.

Speaking to reporters during the virtual press conference to announce the group's financial results today, he said that Petronas has not received any additional request from the government on a special dividend, adding that any decision on a special dividend would be based on the national oil company's ability to do so.

He emphasised that the group would have to look into its operating expenditure, capital expenditure and the ability of Petronas to service its debts before agreeing to a special dividend.

"We need to consider the company's need to have a buffer for volatility which has been pronounced.

"We always make the decision premised on whether it is affordable to us. If we receive any request, we would present it to the board and so far, we are content with paying the RM18 billion dividend to the government," he said.

Last year, Petronas has paid a total of RM34 billion in dividends to the federal government.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, Petronas has contributed towards efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, and the value of its efforts and initiatives stood at close to RM44 million.

As at Dec 31, 2020, RM5.3 million worth of medical equipment, personal protective equipment, hand sanitisers, disinfectants, and face masks, as well as food supplies were distributed to the communities in its domestic and international operations, including in Azerbaijan, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Gabon, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Mexico, Myanmar, South Sudan and Suriname.

--BERNAMA