KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 15): The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has ceased to be a substantial shareholder of Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (CMSB), its Bursa Malaysia filing showed today. 

The provident fund’s stake in the group dropped below 5% after it disposed of a total of 1.8 million shares on Sept 10. 

Previously on Aug 26, the EPF disposed of 798,600 shares in CMSB, reducing its stake to 5.12% or 54.98 million shares in the group. 

Based on back-of-the-envelope calculations, the latest transaction on Sept 10 leaves EPF with 53.18 million shares in CMSB. 

The group recently in June this year reshuffled the members of its audit committee, as well as its nomination and remuneration committee.

This came amid allegations of conflict of interest in terms of awarding contracts and possible financial mismanagement among its top executives.

The group also said previously that its independent consultant KPMG Management & Risk Consulting Sdn Bhd (KPMG MRC) — which was appointed in June to review the group’s financial management of certain investments and contracts — has completed its reports.

However, the legal investigations of the investments and contracts are still ongoing, it added. 

According to the group’s website, CMSB is a conglomerate that engages in businesses to further the development of Sarawak, the largest state in Malaysia. 

Its core businesses, which collectively account for roughly 90% of the company’s total revenue, are the cement division, which manufactures cement, clinker, and concrete products; construction materials and trading, which engages in quarrying, premix, and trading operations; and construction and road maintenance, which engages in infrastructure construction and road maintenance.

Shares in CMSB finished one sen or 0.75% lower to RM1.32, giving it a market value of RM1.42 billion. It saw 3.45 million shares traded today. 

Year to date, the stock has fallen by 38.6% from RM2.15 recorded in early January this year.