Notable filings
The cessation of Gabungan AQRS Bhd chief financial officer Bernard Lim Soon Chiang as a substantial shareholder in the construction company is among the notable shareholding changes that took place between Sept 29 and Oct 3.
An Oct 2 filing with Bursa Malaysia shows Lim disposing of 10.7 million shares at RM1.85 apiece or RM19.8 million in total on Oct 1, cutting his holding to 2.38% or 9.28 million shares from 5.21% or 18.48 million shares on April 25.
Over at Classic Scenic Bhd, filings show that its substantial shareholder, Lim Ket Leng Holding Sdn Bhd (LKLH), sold 11.5 million shares at RM1.09 apiece via two off-market deals on Sept 26 and Oct 1. This reduced LKLH’s holding to 49% or 59.04 million shares.
According to its 2013 annual report, LKLH is Classic Scenic’s biggest shareholder and is controlled by the wood manufacturing company’s executive chairman, Lim Chee Keong, and his brother, Lim Chee Khoon, who is executive director. Through LKLH, Chee Keong now holds 51.07% indirect interest, down from 64.89% on April 23. Meanwhile, Chee Khoon ceased to be a shareholder of LKLH but holds 13.82% direct interest in Classic Scenic.
Over at Biosis Group Bhd, Erwan Azizi is now a substantial shareholder with a 19.05% stake in the PN17 company that makes and distributes pharmaceutical and healthcare products. Erwan is the son of Ferrari Owners’ Club Malaysia president Datuk Azizi Yom Ahmad.
Tan Sun Ping has emerged as a substantial shareholder in SMPC Corp Bhd with a 5.11% stake after she acquired 2.67 million shares on Oct 1 at undisclosed prices. According to SMPC’s 2014 annual report, Tan had 3.89% equity interest as at Aug 18. Although Tan does not hold any director’s position in SMPC, her shareholding dates back as far as March 2012, after she acquired 354,160 shares.
Listed on Bursa in 1995, SMPC’s primary business is processing steel coils, tubes, strappings, steel furniture, metal roofing, floor decking and perforated metal as well as industrial recycling of scrap metal. SMPC rose nine sen or 9.57% to close at RM1.03 last Wednesday.
Notable movements
Closing at RM3.51 last Wednesday, shares of poultry company Lay Hong Bhd have exceeded the price of RM3.50 apiece that QL Resources Bhd is offering to privatise the former on Sept 24. After buying 3.46 million Lay Hong shares between Sept 24 and Oct 7, QL’s voluntary takeover offer became a mandatory offer after it crossed the 33% trigger, a statement dated Oct 8 shows.
Lay Hong shares have been on an upward trend since the start of the year but prices surged nearly threefold from RM1.20 on Aug 10, 2012, to a 52-week high of RM3.55 on Sept 30 following QL’s move. QL made a takeover offer after its nominee failed to secure a seat on Lay Hong’s board.
Over at Ni Hsin Resources Bhd, the company received an unusual market activity query from Bursa on Sept 18. Its stock price had leapt 239.65% from a one-year low of 15 sen in October last year to a one-year high of 51 sen on Sept 23. This could be partly due to speculation that Ni Hsin might see a reverse takeover by an oil and gas outfit, something which the company denied in its reply to Bursa.
Filings dated Sept 30 show that Taiwanese Hsiao Liu Lee ceased to be a substantial shareholder after she disposed of 21 million shares of the stainless steel multi-ply cookware manufacturer on Sept 30. Liu Lee is the mother of Ni Hsin chairman Hsiao Chih Jen. His father, Hsiao Tsai Sheng, also recently ceased to be a substantial shareholder after he sold 23.66 million shares on Sept 18. According to Ni Hsin’s 2013 annual report, Chih Jen’s parents each held an 11.73% stake as at March 31, 2014. The stock closed at 38.5 sen last Wednesday.
This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on October 13 - 19, 2014.
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