PROCEEDS OF SALE OF GOVERNMENT-OWNED COMPANIES IN PETROCHEMICAL COMPLEX

Dr Lee Siew-Choh asked the Minister for Finance how much was received by the government for the transfer of its shareholding in the petrochemical plant to Shell.

Dr Richard Hu Tsu Tau: The total sum received by the Government from Shell was S$569.5 million, representing proceeds from the sale of its shares in three companies within the petrochemical complex, namely, the Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore (Pte) Ltd, The Polyolefin Company (Singapore) Pte Ltd and Ethylene Glycols (Singapore) Pte Ltd. Government will continue to hold a 20% shareholding in the Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore.

It should be noted that the money received from Shell is a provisional payment and the shares are still held in trust by Government, pending final completion of technical details in the transaction.