KUALA LUMPUR (March 23): Datuk Ng Jui Sia has been appointed as the independent and non-executive chairman of Malaysia Smelting Corp Bhd (MSC).

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, MSC said that Ng, 64, who was Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&N)'s chief executive officer (CEO) from October 2010 to October 2013, and group CEO of F&N Ltd's Food & Beverage (Non Alcoholic) from July 2013 until May 2015, will be taking the chairman's seat.

Ng, a Singaporean, currently holds the position of strategic adviser at F&N Ltd, and is also a board member of Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company. He was also a director of Cocoaland Holdings Bhd.

MSC also announced the appointment of two new independent and non-executive directors, Peter Ho Kok Wai and John Mathew Mathai, with effect from today.

Ho, 56, a former audit partner of KPMG Malaysia, also holds directorships in Hong Leong Industries Bhd, Guocoland (M) Bhd and Sapura Resources Bhd.

John Mathew, 53, is an advocate and solicitor of the High Court and is presently a partner in legal firm Christopher Lee & Ong.

Their appointment follows the resignation of MSC's three independent non-executive directors, Razman Ariffin, Chew Hoy Ping and Gee Siew Yoong last Friday. The three had cited personal reasons for their resignations.

Razman had also resigned from his position as chairman of MSC, a role he had held since July 2014.

However, in its filing to the exchange yesterday, MSC had clarified that the resignation of Razman and Chew as independent non-executive directors was not yet effective due to regulatory requirements.

The company quoted Sections 122(1) and 122(6) of the Companies Act 1965.

Section 122(1) states that a company must have at least two directors who each has a principal or place of residence in Malaysia, while Section 122(6) states that a director's resignation is deemed invalid if his resignation results in the number of directors reduced below the minimum number stipulated in Section 122(1).

The company then said that it is in the process of identifying new directors, and upon the appointment of such directors, the resignation of Razman and Chew will be effective.

Shares in MSC, which is involved in the smelting of tin concentrates and tin bearing materials, ended the day up three sen or 1.24% at RM2.45, with a market capitalisation of RM245 million.