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KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Country Heights Holdings Bhd (CHHB) has assured investors that the "recent personal incident" of its controlling shareholder and founder Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew will not impact the company.
On Wednesday (April 12), news that Lee was declared bankrupt by the Shah Alam High Court in January over a RM3 million suit went viral.
“CHHB highly values the trust of investors and wants to stress that the personal financial situation or insolvency of any shareholder will not affect their financial or operational performance," the property developer said in a statement on Thursday.
“The group acknowledges and appreciates the robust corporate governance policies of Bursa Malaysia and remains dedicated to maintaining the utmost standards of ethics and professionalism. The group’s growth strategy remains a top priority, and the group is eager to generate value for shareholders,” it added.
Its managing director Datuk Mircle Yap said the group appreciated the contributions of all of its shareholders, but also wants to emphasise that Lee's "personal incident" is a confidential matter and will not affect CHHB's operations.
“We have a competent management team, and a strong corporate governance structure in place to ensure that our business operations continue without interruption,” Yap said.
"Investors can be confident that CHHB's financial performance and outlook are based on their strong business fundamentals, including a diversified real estate portfolio, strategic investments, and a proven track record of creating value for shareholders,” he added.
Yap said CHHB also remains committed to its growth strategy and believes that it will continue to generate long-term value for our investors.
According to Malaysia Department of Insolvency's website, e-insolvensi, Lee received the bankruptcy notice issued by the Shah Alam High Court on Jan 26 this year.
On Feb 3, Country Heights announced the 68-year-old's resignation as the group's executive chairman, saying it was “to cater for change management for the transformation of the group.”
The former corporate high-flyer controls 57.64% in Country Heights, which is best known for developing the Mines Resort City in Seri Kembangan, Selangor, and is close with former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Shares in CHHB fell as much as 5.63% or two sen to 33.5 sen on Thursday’s morning trade, from Wednesday’s closing price of 35.5 sen.
The stock, however, recovered all its losses and rose to its intraday high of 36 sen before traded unchanged at 35.5 sen on 3.30pm. Some 23.89 million shares have changed hands so far.
At 35.5 sen, the group had a market capitalisation of RM106 million.