This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on October 17, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: Destini Bhd’s largest shareholder Datuk Rozabil Abdul Rahman has been mopping up more shares in recent weeks as the company’s share price reversed its uptrend after it had rebounded from the low of 20.5 sen.

Rozabil bought some 330,000 shares through Mazer Sdn Bhd in the open market at 24.2 sen per share on Monday, according to the filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

He has acquired some 1.508 million shares, including some 328,000 shares that were bought via his investment vehicle — BPH Capital Sdn Bhd — since the start of the month. As of yesterday, Rozabil held a 7.19% direct interest plus an indirect stake of 19.43% in Destini, giving him an accumulated 26.62% interest in the company.

Destini’s share price has been on a decline after the general election on May 9. It plunged to a 10-year low of 20.5 sen that month. It staged a rebound in July, hitting a high of 35 sen in the following month. The stock closed at 24 sen yesterday, down nearly 54% year to date.

In an exclusive interview with The Edge Malaysia weekly in August, Rozabil, who is the group’s president and group chief executive officer, did say he had no plan to sell his stake, but to instead continue to run the group and grow the business.

He refuted rumours of a possible change in shareholders post-general election which could have been prompted by the perception of Destini being “politically linked” as it used to land many government contracts.

Rozabil said the group intends to reduce its dependency on government contracts with a five-year plan, although about 80% of its order book comprises government contracts.