He said he had suggested an offer of 20% stake to the public, adding that this could raise RM300 billion, which could be used to pare down the national debt.
If RM300 billion was raised from the initial public offering for Petronas, he said, RM240 billion, or 80% of the proceeds, could be channelled to Putrajaya to manage the national debt.
The balance of RM60 billion could then be used for business expansion, Wong, who heads PKR’s policy bureau, told FMT.
“The idea is to pump RM60 billion into alternative energy, which many oil companies are pursuing in earnest because of challenges from climate change.
“That RM60 billion investment should then generate RM60 billion in revenue for Petronas, post-IPO. Assuming a conservative return on investment of 10%, that would create a RM6 billion additional profit per year,” he said.
Wong said the reality was that Malaysia had a national debt problem and that his suggestion of an IPO was a potential solution that should be explored.
He also said his proposal was not an attack on Petronas’ accounting or governance, but recent news involving its vendors and contractors in the industry, including Serba Dinamik, did not “inspire confidence that all is well”.
“The most recent charges against a Petronas executive for allegedly receiving RM6.1 million in bribes for awarding contracts are examples that there is obvious room to improve on corporate governance.
“I am suggesting that greater transparency of contracts post-IPO can be demanded by minority shareholders and this will then spur improvements to overall corporate governance.
“I am happy and willing to engage with Petronas CEO Tengku Taufik Aziz or any related party on the same matter,” he said.
According to Bernama, Tengku Taufik had questioned how Wong arrived at his conclusion that an IPO for Petronas would earn the oil and gas company an additional RM60 billion in revenue annually.
He also responded to Wong’s inference that Petronas “did not pursue best practices or follow international disclosures”, saying the firm was audited by the “big four” of accounting firms – Deloitte, PwC, Ernst & Young (EY) and Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG).
Tengku Taufik said Petronas answered to Parliament, was scrutinised by local and international credit rating agencies, and notched against sovereign ratings.