This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on December 28, 2015 - January 3, 2016.
GSB Group Bhd could morph into the property arm of businessman Datuk Tee Eng Ho after a series of corporate exercises are concluded, industry sources say.
At the present time, Tee’s only listed company is Fututec Bhd, whose name will be changed to Kerjaya Prospek Group Bhd and which will be the construction arm of the group. Tee had bought into Fututec in October 2011 and controls a 72.18% stake in it but he only recently made his presence felt at the company.
Moves to take control of GSB have already begun. On Dec 18, privately held Javawana Sdn Bhd surfaced as a substantial shareholder in the property outfit with a 16.67% stake after a private placement of 88 million shares at 10 sen each.
Javawana is a special purpose vehicle controlled by Datin Toh Siew Chuon, Tee Eng Han and Tee Eng Tiong. Toh, who is married to Eng Ho, is an executive director of Fututec.
In September this year, GSB’s stock was reclassified from industrial products to properties.
“That’s the talk of the town, that GSB will become the property arm of the group while Fututec handles construction,” a source explains.
Javawana is the second largest shareholder of GSB. The Gan family, led by patriarch Datuk Gan Seng Biang, owns 22.39% of GSB while another notable shareholder is private company Suria Bitara Sdn Bhd, which holds 15.24% of GSB.
A filing with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) reveals that Suria Bitara’s directors are Cheo Tiam and Chong Lai Fong. Chong has 95% equity interest in Suria Bitara while Lee Geok Ching has 5%.
It is worth noting that Suria Bitara does not have any board representation on GSB and had surfaced in the company back in September 2005, when GSB was known as SM Summit Holdings Bhd.
Over the past year, GSB’s shares have been trading at between 7 sen and 14 sen. Its net assets per share was only 11.7 sen as at end September, which is paltry for a property developer.
In its six months ended September 2015, GSB posted a small net profit of RM1.22 million on revenue of RM10.66 million. Over the past two financial years, it has suffered losses.
As at Sept 30, GSB had a cash balance of RM6.71 million while its short-term debt was RM21.34 million and long-term borrowings were RM15.51 million.
However, there are attempts to revive GSB through the acquisition of land. The company is in the midst of buying two plots measuring 2.22 acres in Section 15, Shah Alam, for RM20.50 million, which comes with a conditional development order. This acquisition is slated for completion in February 2016.
GSB also has a mixed-use development known as “g Residence” in Johor Baru and commercial and residential developments known as Bentong Avenue and Valleyview33 respectively in Bentong, Pahang. It is looking to buy a 52.08-acre parcel in Bentong for RM29.49 million, which should be concluded next year.
To recap, in February this year, Fututec announced that it had signed a heads of agreement with Eng Ho, Toh and Tee Eng Seng to buy their equity interest in construction company Kerjaya Prospek (M) Sdn Bhd and Permatang Bakti Sdn Bhd for RM458 million — a reverse takeover by Eng Ho.
The bulk of the consideration was for Kerjaya Prospek. The purchase consideration was to be settled through RM35.2 million cash, RM42.8 million via the issuance of Fututec shares at an issue price of RM1.16 each and RM360 million via the issuance of new redeemable convertible preference shares (RCPS) in Fututech at an issue price of RM1.16 each.
Kerjaya Prospek and Permatang Bakti have a combined order book of RM2.74 billion, excluding Fututec’s RM121 million’s worth.
According to the filing with CCM, Kerjaya Prospek is 50%-controlled by Eng Seng and 50% by Eng Ho and his wife Toh.
In its financial year ended Dec 31, 2014, Kerjaya Prospek registered a net profit of RM48.61 million on revenue of RM486.76 million.
According to its website, Kerjaya Prospek set up a property development division in August 2010. Its maiden project was 222 Residency in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, followed by 288 Residency, also in Setapak, which was completed in October 2013.
Its ongoing projects include 100 Residency in Setapak, which has an estimated gross development value of RM100 million and 412 units known as Residency V in Jalan Kelang Lama with an estimated GDV of RM250 million.
It seems that Kerjaya Prospek’s total GDV is in excess of RM1 billion after recent acquisitions of freehold vacant land in Jalan Kelang Lama, Setiawangsa and Sungai Buloh and 180 acres in Tehel, Melaka.
The company is building 392 serviced apartments to be managed by Swiss-Garden International Hotels, Resorts and Inns in Melaka, which is also a business GSB is involved in.
Eng Ho, 51, was born to rubber tappers but made it big after venturing into construction in 1995.
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