This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 11, 2017 - December 17, 2017

Notable filings

BETWEEN Nov 27 and 30, notable filings of shareholding changes in companies listed on Bursa Malaysia included purchases by major shareholders of 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Bhd.

On Nov 16, Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar bought 29,200 shares in the company on the open market, raising his holding to 9.84%.

Separately, Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun acquired several small blocks of shares on the open market, raising his stake in 7-Eleven marginally to 41.73%. In early August, Tan had an almost 44% stake in the company and the sultan, 8.44%.

Another notable filing was the disposal of 8.88 million Asdion Bhd shares by Tey Por Chen, leaving him with 15.94 million shares or a 13.7% stake in the company. Tey’s share sales were on Nov 28 and 29, just days before the loss-making company announced its latest quarterly results on Nov 30.

Asdion posted a 60% year-on-year drop in revenue to RM1.12 million in its second quarter ended Sept 30. Net loss halved in the same period to RM598,000. In the first half of the year, the company’s net loss narrowed to RM1.1 million from RM1.79 million.

Datuk How Say Swee disposed of one million shares in Lien Hoe Corp Bhd and ceased to be a substantial shareholder. It is interesting to note that the company has been actively buying back its own shares on the open market. Its treasury shares have increased from 11.32 million in end-October to 16.94 million on Dec 5.

Lien Hoe’s share price has been on a downward trend since the middle of the year, falling from a high of 45 sen in June to 34.5 sen last Wednesday.

Maxwell International Holdings Bhd saw non-executive director Li Kwai Chun dispose of 20 million shares on Nov 27, reducing her holding to 43.55% or 173.71 million shares. Li, 59, was the president of the China-based shoemaker until July 31 when she was redesignated as non-executive director.

Filings also show a substantial number of Sime Darby Bhd shares changed hands ahead of the group’s demerger.

Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) sold 50 million Sime Darby shares on Nov 23 while Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP) disposed of 27.33 million Sime Darby shares between Nov 22 and 24. On the other hand, Skim Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASM) acquired 72.26 million Sime Darby shares between Nov 21 and 24 while the Employees Provident Fund picked up 9.19 million Sime Darby shares in the same period.

As a result of the demerger, ASM received 2.85 billion shares in Sime Darby Plantation Bhd. KWAP, PNB and EPF got 342.35 million Sime Darby Plantation shares, 343.39 million shares and 741.88 million shares respectively.

Orion IXL Bhd non-independent executive director Yahya Razali disposed of 13.09 million shares in the company on Nov 23 and 24. He still holds 96.11 million shares or a 16.04% stake after the sale. Yahya is a relatively recent appointee to the board, joining in August last year.

Notable movements

Destini Bhd group managing director Datuk Rozabil Abdul Rahman acquired 850,000 shares in the company between Nov 27 and 30, raising his direct holding to 20.76 million shares or 1.8% while he is also deemed interested in another 22.63% stake.

Filings show Rozabil bought 400,000 shares at 45.4 sen apiece on Nov 27, 150,000 shares at 45.8 sen each on Nov 28, 20,000 shares at 44.5 sen each on Nov 29 and 300,000 shares at 43.8 sen apiece on Nov 30.

The purchases come as Destini’s share price continued its downward trend that began in March, falling from 82 sen to 46 sen last Thursday.

SKP Resources Bhd saw executive chairman and managing director Datuk Gan Kim Huat dispose of nine million shares on Nov 27 at RM2.01 apiece, or RM18.09 million in total. He retains a 41.11% stake in the company, of which 9.98% is held directly. SKP Resources’ share price has shot up this year, gaining almost 60% since July. It closed at RM2.06 last Thursday.

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