This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on March 14 - 18, 2016.

Notable filings

Between Feb 29 and March 4, notable filings with Bursa Malaysia on substantial shareholding changes included that on the cessation of Datuk Tey Por Yee as a major shareholder of Asdion Bhd on Feb 25 after he disposed of his entire 21.34% stake to his younger brother, Por Chen.

The March 4 filing did not reveal the transaction price. However, Bloomberg data shows 24.82 million shares changed hands in a single direct deal on Feb 25 at 27 sen apiece, which was at a whopping 34.9% to 35.7% discount to the 41.5 sen to 42 sen apiece the shares fetched on the open market at the time.

For the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2015, Asdion slipped deeper into the red with its net loss widening to RM3.41 million from RM817,000 a year ago. The company attributed the loss to administrative expenses and professional fees incurred in a corporate exercise and it came despite revenue increasing to RM8.75 million from RM475,000 previously.

Filings also showed substantial shareholding changes at Flonic Hi-Tec Bhd, where 160 million shares or a 20% stake moved off market in three direct trades on March 1. Bloomberg data shows the shares changed hands at five sen apiece, which was at an 11.1% premium to the 4.5 sen they fetched on the open market that day.

Siblings Loh Boon Ginn and Loh Shy Ming emerged as substantial shareholders with an 11.27% deemed stake after SC Estate World Sdn Bhd acquired 37.41 million shares in Flonic on March 1. Boon Ginn is Flonic’s newly appointed managing director while Shy Ming is a non-executive non-independent director.

Another sibling, Loh Boon Zheng, who was appointed a non-independent non-executive director, acquired 122.59 million shares or a 15.34% stake through Takzim Empayer Sdn Bhd from former executive chairman Datuk Chua Wye Man. Chua resigned as Flonic’s chairman on March 1.

The company posted a net loss of RM1.35 million in its third quarter ended Oct 31, 2015, compared with a net loss of RM836,000 a year ago. Revenue, however, rose to RM5.7 million from RM3.77 million a year ago.

During the week in review, Wang Tak Co Ltd Hong Kong disposed of three million shares in Goldis Bhd while individual Tan Boon Seng sold 400,824 shares. Goldis also saw Tan Sri Robert Tan acquire 1.9 million shares through Wah Seong (M) Trading Co Sdn Bhd on the open market. To date, Tan has a direct interest of 0.24% and an indirect interest of 31.15% in Goldis. The company’s net profit shrank 38.2% to RM28.23 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2015, even as revenue slipped to RM319.12 million from RM327.12 million a year ago.

Notable movements

Ire-Tex Corp Bhd’s share price fell 9.43% to 24 sen apiece between Feb 29 and March 1. It then rebounded 8.33% to end at 26 sen on March 4. During this period, Datuk Tey Por Yee disposed of all his 30.6 million shares in the company to his brother, Por Chen, through an off-market transaction.

The disposal means that Por Yee is no longer a shareholder of Ire-Tex Corp while Por Chen has become a substantial shareholder with 22.96% equity interest. Over the year, Ire-Tex’s shares rose as high as 42 sen apiece but they closed at 26 sen last Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Malaysia Building Society Bhd’s (MBSB) shares created some excitement, surging 11.36% from March 2 to RM1.47 on March 7. This came after a March 2 filing with Bursa showed the emergence of Tan Sri Chua Ma Yu as a substantial shareholder as at Feb 29 after acquiring 171.89 million shares directly and indirectly on the open market. His direct stake amounted to 3.76% and his indirect stake, 2.3%.

Interestingly, Chua’s emergence in the company came shortly after MBSB announced a net loss of RM15.81 million in its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2015, compared with a net profit of RM393.07 million a year ago. The red ink was attributed to higher provisions made for impaired losses during the quarter. Still, MBSB was profitable for the full year with a net profit of RM257.59 million compared with RM1.02 billion the year before.

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