KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 17): KPower Bhd, in which Datuk Mohd Abdul Karim has ceased to be its substantial shareholder, has redesignated its deputy chairman Mustakim Mat Nun to be its executive chairman with immediate effect.

In his role as executive chairman, Mustakim, 48, will be responsible to lead KPower’s board of directors and oversee the group’s business, said KPower in a statement Monday (Jan 17). The chairman's post was previously left vacant after Abdul Karim resigned as the non-independent non-executive chairman on Dec 14, “in order to pursue other matters”.

Mustakim is also currently the group's managing director.

“Having led the management and the group during the rapid growth period of the past two years, the appointment of Mustakim is hoped to further solidify and consolidate the group in its effort to strengthen the group’s presence in the regional renewable energy industry,” said KPower.

In addition, the group has appointed Ahmad Riza Mohd Saian, a fellow chartered accountant of chartered accountants Australia & New Zealand (CAANZ), to its board as an independent non-executive director.

Ahmad Riza, who was the group chief executive officer of MyCreative group — Malaysian government’s investment arm for the creative industry — is an experienced finance professional with more than 22 years of working experience in several industries. Among areas he specialises in are: investments and valuations, value creations, mergers and acquisitions, stakeholders’ management, financing and branding. He also served as an auditor for 10 years, with stints in PricewaterhouseCoopers in Kuala Lumpur and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in London.

In an earlier filing on the same day, KPower said it had received notice of Abdul Karim's cessation as a major shareholder on Jan 13, after he disposed of 79.05 million shares in a series of transactions that took place between February 2021 and January 2022.

At one point, Abdul Karim had as much as 153.82 million shares that equated to a 28.338% stake in KPower, according to Bloomberg data.

Abdul Karim, who is also the managing director and CEO of Serba Dinamik Bhd, is currently facing a charge by the Securities Commission Malaysia in relation to the oil and gas outfit's submission of a false financial statement to Bursa Malaysia. The case will be heard on Jan 27.

KPower’s share price closed one sen or 2.47% higher at 41.5 sen on Monday, bringing the group a market capitalisation of RM225 million.