SINGAPORE (July 7): Digiland International has appointed Dr Goh Jin Hian as its CEO, to steer the company’s transformation from IT products distributor to energy trader, the company announced on July 7.
Goh, a medical doctor by training, is the son of Goh Chok Tong, Singapore’s second prime minister and current emeritus senior minister. The 46-year-old is already Digiland’s executive director since June 24.
Between 2006 and 2015, Goh held various senior appointments within the healthcare industry, notably at the Parkway Holdings, now part of IHH Healthcare Bhd.
Goh got formally involved with Digiland back in August 26 last year, when the two parties formed an energy trading joint venture, with Goh holding 80.1% and the company 19.9%.
The joint venture company International Energy Group Pte Ltd (IEG) has a paid up capital and $100,000 and is said to primarily deal in feedstock supply, cargo trading and ex-wharf trading.
As part of the joint venture agreement, Goh granted Digiland a call option to acquire his 80.1% share. The call option was exercised on Dec 29 2014, and Goh was paid by the company issuing him a $7.6 million bond.
On the same day, Digiland announced that it was issuing 7.3 billion news shares to Goodwood Associates Pte Ltd, wholly owned by Lee Soek Shen, at 0.1 cents per share. This gives him a 14.54% stake in the enlarged share capital of Digiland, which appointed him as an executive director since March 30 2015.
Prior to joining Digiland, Lee, 46, is group managing director at traditional Chinese medicine clinic IAG Healthsciences Pte Ltd since 1998. Meanwhile, Goh, the newly-appointed CEO, is the group executive director at IAG Healthsciences since April 2011.
“The company’s rationale for placing to the subscriber is in line with the group’s business strategy to expand into the oil and gas industry, which has the potential for growth to the benefit of the company and its shareholders,” said Digiland in its Dec 29 2014 announcement. “The company may be able to tap and leverage on Mr Lee’s experience and contacts in the oil and gas industry.”
Evidently, there were already deals lined up. On May 18, the Digiland announced that it has formed a joint venture with Malta Enterprise Corporation, its national economic development agency, to help develop Malta into a trading hub for energy products between Europe and Asia.
The joint venture is called New Silkroutes Group (Europe) Ltd and the scope of activities will include wholesale and retail trading of crude oil, building of storage facilities and blending of petroleum distillates for subsequent re-export.
“Pending the approval of the Singapore-EU Free Trade Agreement and the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, we have gone ahead to establish a presence in the EU via Malta as the preferred oil hub in the Mediterranean owing to its geo-political location and proximity to mainland Europe, North Africa and the Middle East,” said Goh in the announcement.
Dr Mario Vella, Chairman of Malta Enterprise Corporation, in the same announcement, said that the Mediterranean island state is “determined” to become a major oil and gas trading, brokering and processing hub.
“We welcome and support this initiative from Singapore. It will facilitate business between different continents of the world through Malta,” he added.
Even as the company moves into the energy sector, it remains active in the IT industry. On June 3, the company announced that it has acquired a 65% stake in iBase Technology International Pte Ltd.
A joint venture will be formed to develop and market real-time, multiuser enterprise solutions for e-government systems in areas like accounting and claims management, human resources management and real estate and facility management, marketed under the name UBERIQTM.
According the Digiland’s announcement, customers of UBERIQTM include Jurong Port, Singapore Post, NTUC Fairprice, properties within Sentosa Cover and the Abu Dhabi Marina Square on Al Reem Island.
The joint venture has set its sights on potential customers across the region ranging from governments to even wealth management units servicing family offices of ultra-high net-worth individuals.
For the three months ended March 31 2015, Digiland was US$1.07 million ($1.45 million) in the red, from earnings of US$267,000 in the year earlier quarter. Revenue in the same period was US$12.5 million, down 36% y-o-y.
As at 10.39 a.m., Digiland shares remain unchanged at 0.2 cents.