KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 15 – Felda has yet to get approvals for a listing date for its plantation unit Felda Global Venture Holdings Bhd (FGVH) despite a deputy minister saying the initial public offering (IPO) was scheduled for May 10, which is expected to be the largest stock debut this year in Malaysia.

Felda chairman Tan Sri Isa Abdul Samad said only the prospectus has been “recently submitted to the Securities Commission for approval.”

“The FGVH IPO is going through the usual regulatory process and nothing has been finalised at this point,” he said in a one-paragraph statement issued this evening.

Deputy minister in the prime minister’s department Datuk Ahmad Maslan was reported by Bernama on Monday as specifying the date for the IPO.

He is in charge of Felda, the Federal Land Development Authority, which oversees the swathes of land being developed by settlers with oil palm and rubber trees.

“I strongly urge all parties not to make statements or speculations that may prejudice this approval process. I am sure the FGVH management will make the necessary disclosure in due course as and when approvals are obtained from the authorities concerned,” Isa said in the statement.

A source with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters the IPO would raise as much as US$2 billion (RM6.05 billion) and would take place in early May.

FGVH is an agri-business company focused on palm oil, rubber and sugar cane processing and cultivation.

The proposed IPO has courted some political controversy because the land authority is also responsible for the welfare of Felda settlers, ethnic Malays who receive aid in the form of land from the government.