Malaysia's 1MDB agrees to request for arbitration filed by UAE's IPIC

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian state-owned fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) on Monday said it had agreed to a request for arbitration filed by Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) and its subsidiary, Aabar Investments PJS.

IPIC, in a submission to the London Court of International Arbitration last month, is claiming about US$6.5 billion (S$8.8 billion) from 1MDB and the Malaysia's finance ministry after a debt restructuring agreement between the companies went sour.

"1MDB is confident in its legal position and has submitted a formal and robust response to the RFA (request for arbitration) through its legal counsel, Weil Gotshal & Manges, a specialist in international litigation," 1MDB said in a statement.