KUALA LUMPUR (Mar 30): Ireka Corp Bhd has appointed its founder and managing director (MD) Datuk Lai Siew Wah as chairman, as part of a reorganisation plan to better steer the property group to drive value for shareholders.
Siew Wah replaces Abdullah Yusof who is retiring after serving at the helm for the last 23 years.
In a statement today, Ireka (fundamental: 0.2; valuation: 1.2) said Kwok Yoke How, who has been on the board since 1992, will also be retiring.
Meanwhile, Lai Voon Hon, who is Siew Wah's son, and Monica Lai Voon Huey, who is the daughter of Siew Wah, will be taking on new roles as group MD and group chief executive officer (CEO) and deputy group MD and deputy group CEO respectively.
Deputy MD Datuk Lai Foot Kong will assume the role of group executive director (ED) and group adviser, while Mohd Sharif remains as senior independent non-ED.
"The remaining position of independent non-ED will be filled in due course," said Ireka.
The group also announced the appointment of Hoe Kah Soon as its independent director, while Tan Thiam Chai will assume the role of group ED effective Wednesday.
Hoe is an accountant by trade and comes to Ireka with vast experience in strategic change management in large, complex organisations, having worked for Andersen Consulting. Hoe is also currently independent non-ED of two other public-listed Malaysian companies.
While Tan is an engineer by profession and has been the CEO for Ireka’s construction arm, Ireka Engineering & Construction Sdn Bhd since June 2003.
Tan has worked for Ireka for 26 years and brings with him a wealth of expertise and know-how, having led many of the company’s major civil engineering and building projects over the years.
Ireka shares closed up at half a sen or 0.76% at 66 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM111.92 million.
(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)