KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 8): Financially-distressed Wintoni Group Bhd has submitted a proposal to turn around its fortunes and set a new course for business direction, stressing its intention to remain as an ongoing listed firm.

"Any new development of the above matter will be made to Bursa Malaysia in due course," the firm said in a filing to the stock exchange.

Wintoni said the proposal was submitted by its new board of directors, which was appointed on June 20, after undergoing a series of ugly boardroom tussle that has led to removal and voluntary resignation of previous directors.

Wintoni's new board is led by the independent and non-executive chairman, Mohd Nasir Salleh, 62, a retired senior police officer.

As for the submitted proposal, Wintoni said it detailed the new business direction and plans to improve the financial performance, as it hoped to regularise the Guidance Note 3 (GN3) status, which was the consequence of breaching the bourse's listing requirements.

The GN3 status for firms listed on the ACE Market is equivalent to the Practice Note 17 status for firms listed on the Main Market, usually slapped on companies with distressed financial condition.

The latest filing showed that Wintoni's bleeding has deepened to RM66.3 million in end-June 2017.

Wintoni was slapped with the GN3 status on Feb 26, 2016, after it chalked a full-year loss within one year from the date it was listed on the local bourse, and consequently its shareholders equity dropped to less than 50% of its issued and paid-up capital.

Meanwhile, Wintoni also announced that it has approached M&A Securities Sdn Bhd to re-appoint the latter as the principal adviser to regularise the GN3 status.

On April 28, M&A Securities tendered its resignation as the sponsor to regularise Wintoni's GN3 status.

Wintoni's announcement today followed the appeal that it has submitted to Bursa Malaysia to stop the latter from de-listing its shares.

Bursa Malaysia said it has decided to defer the de-listing move, as it deliberates on the content of Wintoni's appeal before arriving at a final decision.

Wintoni, which has ceased all of its operations and recorded zero revenue in the latest financial quarter, is controlled by its executive director Cheah Kwong Lee, who was appointed to the board on June 20, not long after he emerged as the substantial shareholder on April 27.

A former chief executive officer of PanGlobal Insurance Bhd, Cheah is currently Wintoni's controlling shareholder with a 10.17% stake.

Wintoni shares have been suspended since May 9 over the group's failure to submit its 2016 annual report. The stock was last traded at 3.5 sen, giving a market capitalisation of RM17.96 million.