MALAYSIA RAISES GASOLINE PRICE OVERNIGHT BY 40 PERCENT,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 000476 STATE PASS USTR - WEISEL AND BELL STATE PASS FEDERAL RESERVE AND EXIMBANK STATE PASS FEDERAL RESERVE SAN FRANCISCO TCURRAN SINGAPORE PASS TO SBAKER USDOC FOR 4430/MAC/EAP/M.HOGGE TREASURY FOR OASIA AND IRS GENEVA FOR USTR SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ENRG SENV ECON EFIN EINV ETRD PGOV MY SUBJECT: MALAYSIA RAISES GASOLINE PRICE OVERNIGHT BY 40 PERCENT, DIESEL BY 63 PERCENT REF: KUALA LUMPUR 398 ¶1. SUMMARY: In an effort to address rising costs of energy subsidies, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi yesterday announced a 40 percent price increase on gasoline, a 60 percent price increase on diesel, and 20 to 26 percent increases in electricity rates, effective at midnight on June 4. The new price brings Malaysian prices to USD 0.83 per liter, higher than Indonesia's price at USD 0.64 but still significantly lower than Singapore's USD 1.60 per liter. A further increase could be announced in August. Higher prices for electricity will go into effect on July 1. The announcement of an increase was not unexpected; however, many people were surprised that the increase was so large and so sudden. Political opposition leaders are considering protest actions. END SUMMARY. PUMP PRICES RISE IMMEDIATELY -------------- ¶2. At 5:30 p.m. on June 4, the Prime Minister announced a 40 percent increase in the price of gasoline, from RM 1.92 to RM 2.70 per liter, and a 63 percent increase in the price of diesel to RM 2.58 per liter, effective at midnight on June 4. To help offset the large increase for consumers, owners of vehicles with engines less than 2000 cc will be eligible for a RM 625 rebate when they renew their annual road tax; owners of motorcycles less than 250 cc will receive a RM 150 rebate. ELECTRICITY RATES TO RISE JULY 1 -------------- ¶3. The PM also announced rate increases for electricity effective July 1. Rates will increase progressively based on usage, ranging from 18 to 26 percent for commercial and industrial users and from one to ten percent for households using more than 200 KW per month. According to the national power company Tenaga, approximately 40 percent of households will be affected by the price increase. In Malaysia, 68 percent of electricity generation comes from natural gas. Independent power producers (IPPs) have fixed-price contracts to purchase natural gas from Petronas, the national oil company, at RM 14.31 per Btu; current market rates are closer to RM 35. Most of these contracts are effective until 2015 or 2016. Although IPPs are subject to the Windfall Profit Levy Act of 1998, critics such as Jeff Ooi, a local blogger who was elected to Parliament on an opposition ticket on March 8, claim that the tax will not begin to address the huge benefits that will accrue to the IPPs as a result of the rate hike. "Subsidies distort the economy and should go. Do something? Remove the obscene subsidies to the IPPs so that all are treated equally," writes Ooi in his blog. PROTESTS LIKELY -------------- ¶4. However, so far much of the focus has been on the rising price of gasoline, not electricity. "Inshallah (God willing),I hope they will not demonstrate over this," said the PM, referring to demonstrations that took place in 2006 when the GOM raised the price of gas by 30 sen per liter. But opposition (PAS) parliamentarian Mohamed Hatta Ramli, who led anti-inflation demonstrations earlier this year, says to expect protests, calling the move a "severe misjudgment on the part of government" and saying it will "create big problems for all and sundry." SAVINGS CHANNELED TOWARD FOOD -------------- ¶5. The savings from the government's subsidy bill will be channeled into the GOM's "food security policy," according to the Prime Minister. He assured the public that Malaysian GDP likely would still grow by 5 percent this year, and inflation also would increase by only 5 percent in 2008 - though that is two percentage points higher than the rate measured in April. The PM left the door open for further price adjustments by August, including a possible move to full market prices. "We are moving towards a market price regime but it has to be step by step; we cannot do it immediately," he said. The PM explained that the GOM would continue to offer a fixed RM 0.30 (30 sen) subsidy per liter on gasoline, with the pump price KUALA LUMP 00000476 002 OF 002 adjusted to 30 sen below the market rate as determined on a monthly basis. However, it was unclear whether this would be the policy over the next two months or when market prices would be implemented across the board, or whether the GOM would continue the 30 sen subsidy indefinitely. TIMING WAS KEY -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Eddy Chuah, President of ePetrol Systems Ltd., a technology company that developed a system to manage subsidies through the use of the chip-embedded ID card that every Malaysian citizen is required to carry, told Econoff that the company presented its system to a special "Subsidy Committee" made up of professionals from the Ministries of Finance and Domestic Trade. Although the Committee seemed very interested, Chuah believes the reason they ultimately rejected it was that it would take four to six months to implement, and the GOM needed something immediate. While Chuah still hopes his company can provide the GOM with a system to distribute rebates to income-eligible Malaysian citizens to help compensate for lost subsidies, he now is focusing on Indonesia and China where subsidy management remains a problem. SALE TO NON-MALAYSIANS BACK ON -------------- ¶7. (SBU) All talk of banning the sale of gasoline within 50 kilometers of Malaysia's land borders has been dropped with the new price increase. Chuah claims the June 2 implementation of such a ban at the Thai border was putting additional pressure on the GOM to find a quick solution. Thailand was planning to retaliate with a 100 kilometer ban on selling fuel to drivers of Malaysian-registered vehicles on its own side of the border. The Thais complained that they were being singled out since the planned ban near the Singapore border had been "delayed." Gas station owners near the Thai border complained that they were losing business. One told the press that 90 percent of his customers were foreigners. Even at the new price, Malaysian gasoline is still cheaper than in Thailand and especially Singapore where it sells for USD 1.60 per liter. ¶8. COMMENT: (U) Current trends of shrinking Malaysian production and increasing domestic demand project that by 2011 or 2012 Malaysia will become a net importer of oil (reftel). The increased price might have some minor impact on demand, and also might encourage more vehicles to switch to natural gas. However, Malaysia over the years has invested much more heavily in road construction than in public transportation infrastructure and most people depend on private automobiles. Unfortunately there is no talk so far of using the savings from reduced fuel subsidies to improve public transportation. ¶9. COMMENT (CONT'D): (U) Faced with a huge subsidy bill and shrinking oil reserves of its own, a move to reduce fuel subsidies was inevitable, and most Malaysians realized this. However, such a sharp increase did come as a surprise to the public in a country where the government seldom does anything in a hurry. This is an uncharacteristically bold and risky move for Abdullah, who continues to face serious pressure to resign from within his own UMNO party following the March 8 election setback. The Prime Minister likely is acting in good faith to implement subsidy reductions he knows are necessary but are extraordinarily difficult even under ordinary circumstances. KEITH