This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on June 7, 2017
KUALA LUMPUR: The current directors of Ire-Tex Corp Bhd, the midst of a boardroom tussle, will stay on the board after the Kuala Lumpur High Court declared its recent extraordinary general meeting (EGM) as null and void.
Ire-Tex’s major shareholder, Singapore-based Elite Cosmo Group Ltd, had sought to oust four directors — Felix Chin Wui Choong, Mak Lin Kum, Datuk Seri Mohd Shariff Omar and Ahmad Amrynn Abd Malek — from the board at its EGM last April 27.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia last Monday, the Penang-based corrugated packaging services provider said the court has ruled the meeting called by Elite Cosmo was not a valid EGM of Ire-Tex.
As a result, all resolutions tabled and passed at the meeting, as well as the announcement to remove Chin, Mak, Mohd Shariff and Ahmad Amrynn as directors and for Hamdan Mohd Nor and Raja Hizad Raja Kamarulzaman to be elected as new directors of the company, which were posted on Bursa Malaysia on April 27, are null and void.
Chin, Ire-Tex executive director, said the board is relieved at the court’s decision but noted there are still ongoing lawsuits related to several questionable transactions over the past few years.
“We are relieved with how it turned out, but we still have a few lawsuits ongoing. At least everything is out in the open now with the lawsuits and the police reports made,” he told The Edge Financial Daily yesterday.
He was referring to the ongoing lawsuits and reports pertaining to payments made to Zoomic Automation (M) Sdn Bhd and OGL Asia Resources.
“We will let things run its course, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. There will be more [issues] in the future as we clean up the company’s mess,” said Chin, adding that the board is expecting Elite Cosmo to launch an appeal against the court’s decision.
Following its EGM in April, Ire-Tex had issued two different outcomes of the meeting to Bursa Malaysia, raising questions as to why the market regulator allowed for the company’s differing statements to be put out.
The tussle escalated last month when police reports were filed against independent non-executive director Kong Hon Kay and group chief operating officer Christopher Purcell over payments totalling RM1.8 million made to OGL Asia Resources between June 2015 and October 2016.
Ire-Tex also received a letter from the Commercial Crime Investigation Department informing that a police report made by former executive director, Derick Soo Tee Wei, has been classified as a breach of trust criminal case and investigation papers pertaining to Zoomic had been opened.
In 2015, Ire-Tex’s auditor, UHY Chartered Accountants, presented a qualified opinion on the company’s financial statements for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2014 in relation to a RM16.5 million purchase of machinery by Zoomic from Future Rank Sdn Bhd, a related party of Ire-Tex.
Ire-Tex shares closed down 0.5 sen or 2.38% at 20.5 sen yesterday, with a market capitalisation of RM28.29 million.