KUALA LUMPUR (Mar 26): Tanjung Offshore Bhd executive director (ED) Tan Sri Tan Kean Soon said the company will work closely with the regulatory and institutions on the ongoing investigations, arising from the independent committee (IC) findings, “so the truth will prevail”.

Kean Soon, who was redesignated as the company’s ED (from non-ED) on Monday, said in a statement today that he will work closely with the newly-appointed special auditor, Ferrier Hodgson MH Sdn Bhd, to conduct a forensic audit and address the list of questions and issues raised.

“I will work closely with the special auditor and shall ensure that the results shall be disclosed publicly as soon as possible, he added.

Moving forward, Kean Soon noted that Tanjung Offshore (fundamental: 1.85; valuation: 0.60) plans to review several matters, including the possibility of implementing a dividend policy to reward shareholders.

“The board is also considering to invite Lembaga Tabung Haji, the company’s second largest shareholder, to sit on the board.” 

Kean Soon is the third largest shareholder of Tanjung Offshore, with a 7.58% stake, after its chief executive officer Rahmandin Shamsudin’s 9.99% holdings and Lembaga Tabung Haji’s 7.99% equity interest.

“All shareholders can expect a transparent and accountable board which will endeavour to provide the best returns in these challenging times for the oil and gas industry,” he said.

In the past two days, Tanjung Offshore has withdrawn all legal suits against Kean Soon and related parties. This follows the lifting of the suspension of Kean Soon’s and two other officers’ roles on Monday.

Kean Soon with two others, who hold no less than 10% shares in the company, had also called off an extraordinary general meeting (EGM), which was slated to be held tomorrow.

Kean Soon was replacing Muhammad Sabri Ab Ghani, who resigned on Monday citing “personal reasons”. Apart from Sabri, George William Warren Jr had resigned on the same day as the company’s independent non-ED “to explore other opportunities elsewhere”.

Three others were also appointed on the same day as independent non-Eds namely Datuk Dr Nik Norzrul Thani N. Hassan Thani, Datuk Maheran Mohd Salleh and Tan Sam Eng.

To recap, Warren Jr, Datuk Ab Wahab Ibrahim (non-ED) and Shahrizal Hisham Abdul Halim (independent non-ED), were members of the IC established by Tanjung Offshore’s board of directors on Jan 8 this year.

The formation of the IC, among other things, was to review some of Tanjung Offshore’s past deals and to engage professionals to perform an independent valuation if necessary. 

The findings of the IC, released on Jan 28 this year, pointed at possible conflicts of interest and breaches of fiduciary duty by Kean Soon and two others, according to a statement by Tanjung Offshore. As a result, their executive and advisory roles were suspended on the same day.

Notably, the IC findings have been submitted to Bursa Securities, the Securities Commission Malaysia and the police in late January.

“The management and I have made a list of all the questions and issues raised and have come to an amicable solution which addresses the corporate governance and transparency issues while providing a new structure for the company to go forward, rebuild its business and generate profits,” Kean Soon said.

As at 3:28pm, shares of Tanjung Offshore were traded 0.97% or 0.5 sen higher at 52 sen, with some 157,000 shares changing hands.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)