Showing posts with label kenmark. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kenmark. Show all posts

Wednesday 1 September 2010

Ordinary Malaysians shun stock market amid stalling recovery

September 01, 2010
Individual investors began fleeing the local market in 1997, and have yet to return. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 1 — Individual investors continue to shun the Malaysian stock market as public confidence remains shaky due to fears that the market’s recovery following the 2007 US sub-prime mortgage crisis may not be real.

Economists and analysts said that a slowdown in foreign investments, poor enforcement against unscrupulous activities and overseas competition for local funds also contributed to the lack of interest among ordinary Malaysians in investing in the local share market.

Kenanga Investment Bank economist Wan Suhaimie Wan Saidie said most investors were tired of the Malaysian stock market, which was not as competitive as other bourses in the region, and added that participation was also muted due to the lack of foreign direct investment (FDI).

“There is a correlation between retail participants and foreign investment flows,” he said, referencing the massive 81.1 per cent drop in foreign direct investment (FDI) Malaysia experienced last year.

“If foreign investment flows are not forthcoming individual investors are more likely to shun the local market.”
He said there was a possibility that investors might “go back to hibernation” until they saw signs of a firm recovery, but cautioned that the flow information both locally and abroad did not suggest that things were getting any better.

Until then, however, investors still had many other options to buy both locally and abroad or put their money into properties and commodities, he explained.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index’s 45 per cent gain last year lagged behind Southeast Asian neighbours even after the government announced stimulus plans totalling RM67 billion to help pull the region’s third-largest economy out of a recession.

The slump in trading by individuals coincided with an exodus by foreigners from Asean’s second-biggest stock market, leaving Bursa Malaysia more reliant on domestic institutional funds.

Overseas investors have sold a net RM1.36 billion of Malaysia’s equities this year, adding to RM8.57 billion withdrawn in 2009 and RM38.6 billion that flowed out in 2008, paring their share of local stocks down to 20.6 per cent at the end of April from 27.5 per cent in April 2007.

Wan Suhaimie was critical of the level of participation in the market by statutory funds such as Employees Provident Fund (EPF), which he said distorted the market as they focused only on index-linked stocks.
On March 30, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak revealed that the state-controlled EPF accounted for 50 per cent of daily trading volume in the equity and bond markets. Additionally, more than half of the RM417.1 billion market value in the benchmark stock index is owned by government-linked funds, according to calculations by Bloomberg.

“It doesn’t really reflect the real overall performance of the stock market. Most of the information and research is skewed towards big cap stocks,” he said, adding that it was possible that investors might miss out on smaller companies that have better growth potential because of this.

A Hwang-DBS remisier who wanted to be identified only as Kok explained that, during good times, retail investors make up 60 to 70 per cent of trading value in a normal market.

However, according to a Bloomberg report, trading by individuals have fallen to as low as 20 percent of trading value from more than half before the start of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, when the KLCI slumped by a record 52 per cent.

Kok said the battering individual investors took in 1997 and the recent sub-prime crisis led many to put their money in safer alternatives like unit trusts or sukuks (Islamic bonds), adding that many were also still holding onto stocks that had yet to recover.

“With the market in such a lacklustre mode, you can’t make money punting,” he said. “The market is just drifting. The main market movers are just blue chip index counters... Most retail investors are still on the sidelines nursing their wounds.”

“Any spare money they’ll probably keep in interest-bearing accounts or, if they have more money, they’ll probably just park it with a fund manager.”

Most individual savings started shifting to mutual funds and unit trusts since Malaysia’s economy went into a recession in 1998 but have not returned to stock trading even as the economy expanded at an annual average of five percent over the past decade and the benchmark index more than doubled, Bursa Malaysia CEO Yusli Mohamed Yusoff said in June.

In order to boost retail investors’ share of trading to closer to one-third and tap into Southeast Asia’s second-highest savings rate, Bursa is currently working with brokerages and banks to encourage investors to open up accounts and pursue online trading.

However, Kok said he felt that investors were still wary of trading on the market because they were not convinced that Malaysia’s economic recovery was real.

“When you talk about six or seven per cent (GDP) growth, I suppose you and I don’t see it,” he said.
A broker with a local investment bank who declined to be named was similarly sceptical of the strength of the market’s recovery, pointing out that the KLCI, which is used as a bellwether for the Malaysian stock market, focused only on selected blue chip stocks.

“It is very obvious that the index, targeting only 30 counters, is not a true reflection of the overall market. A lot of the companies are actually really going down,” she said.

“Because the downtrend from ‘07, until today, in terms of all those general stocks that people buy and sell, a lot of them are still very much at the bottom.”

She added that retail investors have also been “very quiet” partly because they had lost confidence in market regulators, citing the recent case of furniture make Kenmark Industrial Co Bhd.

Kenmark’s troubles began in late May when its Taiwanese managing director James Hwang disappeared mysteriously — leading to a plunge in share price and plant closures in Port Klang and Vietnam — only to resurface nearly a week later, claiming his absence was due to illness.

During Hwang’s absence, Datuk Ishak Ismail entered the market and amassed shares amounting to a 32.36 per cent stake in the company over 10 days at prices of between 5.8 sen and 6.0 sen, claiming he had done so to help out his friend Hwang and offer re-employment to the company’s workers.

However, Ishak later sold his direct and indirect stake in Kenmark between June 9 and June 11 at between 14 sen and 16 sen after failing to convince Hwang to return to the company.

The Securities Commission finally stepped in on June 16 when it obtained a High Court order to stop Ishak from using or dealing with the RM10.16 million proceeds from the sale of shares in Kenmark as part of a move to probe possible insider trading.

Kenmark’s share price plummeted from a high of RM0.85 to just RM0.07.

“Stocks can drop from a dollar to penny stocks... These sorts of events happen in the Malaysian market, yet the authorities are not taking action,” the remisier said.

“A company doesn’t just fold up within a month. I can understand how those investors feel.”

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/business/article/ordinary-malaysians-shun-stock-market-amid-stalling-recovery/

Tuesday 15 June 2010

Ishak no longer substantial shareholder of Kenmark

Tuesday June 15, 2010

Ishak no longer substantial shareholder of Kenmark

He pares down Kenmark stake

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Ishak Ismail has netted an estimated RM5mil from selling shares in Kenmark Industrial Co (M) Bhd, a company that he had started buying into slightly over a week ago.

Then, Kenmark’s shares had collapsed following the absence of its top officials and what seemed like a cessation of its business.

It is estimated that Ishak paid around 8 sen per Kenmark share and had emerged with around 57 million shares in Kenmark through his vehicles Unioncity Enterprises Ltd and BHLB Trustee Bhd.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Kenmark said Ishak had ceased to be substantial shareholder of the company as of June 9.

The shares were disposed into the open market on June 9 and June 11. The average share price of Kenmark on those days was 17 sen per share, giving Ishak an estimated gain of 9 sen per share for his 57 million shares.

A senior analyst from a local brokerage said investors were unable to see clear leadership in the running of Kenmark to improve its financial performance. “When the single largest shareholder of a company starts to sell down nearly all of his shares, it does not promote confidence in the company’s future. This turn of events has left many questions unanswered,” he said.

It was earlier reported that Ishak wanted to take the financially distressed furniture maker out of its PN17 classification and restart its operations as soon as possible.

Kenmark’s share price hit a high of 16.5 sen in early morning trade yesterday before dipping gradually to close at 13 sen with 36.5 million shares traded.

----

Ishak makes exit from Kenmark
By Francis Fernandez
Published: 2010/06/15

Datuk Ishak Ismail appears to have sold out of Kenmark Industrial Co (M) Bhd, (7030) a financially troubled furniture maker, in about 10 days, which was also when the stock surged by more than 600 per cent.

As early as June 1, Kenmark was trading as low as 3.5 sen a share, after it emerged that its chief was missing and it was late with its financial results.

But by June 4, Kenmark was trading at 26 sen a share, powered by news that Ishak had bought a 32 per cent stake.

Kenmark told the stock exchange yesterday that it received verbal confirmation from Ishak and BHLB Trustee Bhd, a trust for his family, that nearly 60 million shares linked to him were sold on June 9 and 11.

Unioncity Enterprises Ltd, in which Ishak has an indirect stake, informed Bursa Malaysia that it sold some 27.69 million Kenmark shares on the open market.
With the sale, Unioncity ceases to be a substantial shareholder.

BHLB Trustee owned 30 million shares, or 16.83 per cent, in Kenmark as at June 2, filings to the stock exchange show.

"A representative of BHLB for a discretionary trust for the family of Ishak has verbally confirmed to the company that the trust on June 10 acquired one million Kenmark shares and on June 11 disposed of a total of 31 million Kenmark shares," Kenmark said in a statement yesterday.

Ishak, when asked about the share sale by Business Times, merely answered with a question himself: "Are you sure?"

As at press time, there was no filing to the stock exchange on BHLB selling Kenmark shares.

It is not clear who bought the shares from Ishak. Kenmark also did not mention it in its short statement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

Meanwhile, Kenmark executive chairman Datuk Abd Gani Yusof told Business Times that he was still the chairman of the company.

"I was appointed by the company," Abd Gani said when asked if he was representing Ishak or Taiwanese shareholder James Hwang Ding Kuo, who owns 8.41 per cent of Kenmark.

Abd Gani, who is the major shareholder and executive vice-chairman of Metronic Global Bhd, said he did not know who bought the shares from Ishak.

----


Comment:
It's another way of expressing the "Greater Fool Theory." "I may be a fool to buy this stock at this price; but I'll find another fool to buy it from me at a higher price."

Monday 7 June 2010

Kenmark suffers RM137m pre-tax loss

Business Times
Kenmark suffers RM137m pre-tax loss


2010/06/07

Kenmark Industrial Co (M) Bhd posted a pre-tax loss of RM137.022 million for its full year ended March 31, 2010 from a pre-tax profit of RM4.066 million before.

Its revenue also dropped slightly to RM213.224 million from RM250.926 million previously. -- Bernama

Saturday 5 June 2010

Kenmark stock an easy buy after force-selling

Saturday June 5, 2010

Stock an easy buy after force-selling
By IZWAN IDRIS
izwan@thestar.com.my


MORE than half of Kenmark Industrial Co (M) Bhd’s entire paid up share capital were pledged as collateral at various financial institutions by the main shareholders of the company, based on information from the company’s latest annual report.

It is believed that large blocks of these shares were force-sold into the market in recent days, which had paved the way for a shrewd former shareholder to gain control of the troubled furniture maker.

The force-selling on Kenmark shares gained momentum on Monday after some clients failed to top up their margin accounts in the aftermath of the stock’s sudden price collapse the week before, according to several stockbrokers contacted by StarBizWeek.

Kenmark’s annual report 2009 showed that as at Aug 6 last year, about 55% of the company’s total 181.75 million shares were pledged as collateral for the margin financing facilities. That works out to about 100 million shares held in custody by several banks and stockbrokers.

A chunk of these shares belonged to managing director James Hwang, director Chen Wen-Ling @ Dolly Chen, as well as several privately held companies. Executives from two stockbroking firms confirmed that they no longer hold any Kenmark shares as they had dumped the shares in the market.

Another broker confirmed that his firm had to force sell shares in Kenmark earlier this week after a client failed to top up his margin account. An industry observer said that it is highly likely that these institutions would have to bear significant losses as the stock price had plunged considerably.

Kenmark made headlines last week after its key management went missing and bankers demanded the company pay back it loans. Its failure to submit its latest quarterly financial account fuelled speculation the company was deep in a financial quagmire.

Kenmark’s counter has been on a wild roller coaster ride since then. Shares in Kenmark were suspended from trading by the exchange on Monday after just over an hour of trade on extended sell-down to a paltry 10.5 sen which led to a massive surge in trading volume to 71.9 million shares.

Trading resumed on Tuesday and the stock closed at a record low of 6 sen on 191.1 million shares transacted. However, it rebounded on Wednesday to close at 11.5 sen with 138 million shares changing hands.

The stock was suspended for the second time this week on Thursday, and resumed trading yesterday; it shot up 14.5 sen to close at 26 sen on trading volume of 101 million shares.

On Thursday, the market was in for another shock when it was revealed that Datuk Ishak Ismail had acquired a huge block of shares in Kenmark, a company he had helped list back in 1997. He had mopped up some 57.7 million shares in the open market at near rock bottom prices.

Based on press statement issued on Thursday by managing director James Hwang, Ishak had bought the shares on Tuesday and Wednesday. Recent filings to Bursa Malaysia did not offer any indication about Ishak’s purchase cost, but the stock’s average price over the two-day period was well below 10 sen a piece.

The week before Ishak had resurfaced, Kenmark’s share price was trading at 83 sen on May 25 with a mere 55,000 shares transacted. The stock had kept within a tight trading range of RM1 and 80 sen for the past four years right, up until late May this year.

It is however unclear at this stage, whether Hwang’s stakes in Kenmark has been reduced following the recent sell-off.

Based on the latest availaible information on Kenmark’s shareholding structure, Hwang owned 49.48 million shares, or 27.61% stake in Kenmark as at Aug 6 last year.

It was estimated that Hwang had pledged about 13% of his interest in Kenmark as collateral to several financial institutions including Kenanga Investment Bank, Alliance Group, Maybank and SJ Securities. Company director Chen owned 33.5 million shares, or 18.7% stake in Kenmark, with about 10% of her total stake pledged as collateral.

The annual report showed stockbroker A.A. Anthony held 12 million Kenmark shares that was pledged by Paduan Gangsa Sdn Bhd, while TA Enterprise held 8.34 million shares put up by Rancak Bernas Sdn Bhd and 7.28 million shares pledged by a shareholder Mohd Noh Ibrahim.


http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/5/business/6406163&sec=business

Kenmark - A bizarre run of events

Saturday June 5, 2010

A bizarre run of events

An implausible series of happenings at Kenmark requires that the authorities take note and do the needful

ANYONE following the strange sequence unfolding at furniture manufacturer Kenmark Industrial Co (M) Bhd can be forgiven for thinking that there is more – much more – than meets the eye.

A disappearing managing director and senior management saw its share price collapsing and in its aftermath, a new controlling shareholder emerged, along with the re-emergence of the MD made known via a press release.

First indications of trouble came when the share price collapsed on the eve of Wesak day, on Thursday May 27 and again on Monday, May 31, there being no trading on Friday because of the public holiday. From nearly 80 sen a share, it had collapsed to about 10 sen, in just over a day, wiping out nearly nine tenths of its value.

On Monday morning – 10.10am – after one hour and 10 minutes of trading, Bursa Malaysia suspended the shares and shot a query to the company on the unusual market activity.

Back came the shocking reply on the same day: Kenmark said its independent directors, Zainabon @ Zainab Abu Bakar and Yeunh Wee Tiong, were the only ones present at an audit committee meeting that was to be held at 10.30am on May 27, incidentally, the day the share prices collapsed.

Neither managing director James Hwang nor another executive and non-executive director, all from Taiwan, could be contacted. The deputy general manager and the finance and administration manager had resigned. There was no management representation at the meeting and therefore the meeting could not proceed.

The independent directors visited the company’s premises in Port Klang on May 29 and found it sealed and the premises secured by a guard. In a further announcement the same day, the independent directors revealed that there were letters of demand for borrowings which totalled over RM60mil and that they were unable to ascertain the financial position of the company or offer any other opinion.

And the independent directors said the company would enter PN17 status requiring its operations to be regularised. They also said that the company would be unable to release its quarterly report in time and that the shares would be suspended five trading days later on June 8. This was confirmed by Bursa Malaysia. All these announcements were made on May 31.

In short, it was utter chaos and no one knew what was happening with key board members and senior management having resigned or disappeared or otherwise unable to be located. That must have been a sort of record even for the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange where strange things have sometimes been known to happen and set the stage for a sell-off.

Incredibly, with such a state of uncertainty surrounding the company, the suspension of the shares was lifted the following day, June 1. Prudence should have dictated that the suspension be maintained until more information was forthcoming so that all shareholders could act from a position of equal information.

That would have discouraged needless speculation and ensured that insiders did not have a trading advantage. If syndicates were in the market, they could have been flushed out as more information about the company came into the public domain.

On May 31 when trading was shortened by the suspension, turnover of the company’s shares had already ballooned to an incredible 72 million shares from 1.5 million shares the previous trading day, May 27 and just 55,000 shares on May 26. That 72 million represented nearly 40% of Kenmark’s issued shares, enough to tell anyone that activity was not just unusual but terribly, terribly unusual, considering the shares changed hands in just one hour and ten minutes of trading. .

If you thought turnover was high on May 31, wait for the next day when the suspension was lifted. It shot up to a massive 190 million plus, more than the entire paid-up capital of Kenmark, implying the same shares were changing hands several times. The following day it was still an incredible 138 million shares.

And then came the next shocking announcement on June 2, when the shares were suspended from trading at the awkward time of 4.43pm and remained suspended until yesterday, June 4

Suddenly, managing director Hwang was contactable. He even issued a press release. He had been sick and unconscious, he said, and his family had barred all calls. But he did not explain why his other directors could not be contacted as well. He apologised for the confusion caused.

“I have spoken with a friendly party who has already acquired a substantial stake in the company and there will be new appointments of directors, including two executive directors to manage the situation there,” he said.

He did not say when he spoke to the friendly party.

His letter to the independent directors said that four new directors should be immediately appointed to the board. They were Ho Soo Woon, Ahmed Azhar Abdullah, Woon Wai En and Datuk Abd Gani Yusuf. The last was appointed executive chairman. The independent directors then resigned.

It transpired that the friendly party and new major shareholder was Datuk Ishak Ismail, who managed to pick up some 32% from the market on June 1 and June 2. Ishak, at his own admission, was the bumiputra partner when Kenmark was listed in 1997.

Yesterday, trading continued to be active and the share closed at 29.5 sen, more than double the previous close of 11.5 sen, on a turnover of 100.8 million shares but still well below its recent price of around 80 sen.

The series of events can only be termed incredible and highly volatile. Any reasonable person who follows the case closely will have serious questions to ask at each juncture of the transactions.

It is now up to the authorities, Bursa Malaysia and the Securities Commission to investigate and establish what happened and bring those responsible to book.

At the very least, there was gross negligence in terms of corporate governance and the proper running of a company.

But things could be a lot worse than that.

l Managing editor P Gunasegaram says that smoke usually indicates fire.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/5/business/6407063&sec=business

Friday 4 June 2010

Who were the sellers of Kenmark shares?

Before the recent crisis, Kenmark was trading at 83 sen per share (market capitalization of RM 148.63 million).

On 2.6.2010, Kenmark was trading at 6 sen per share (market capitalization of RM10.74 million)

Mr. Ishak bought 57.6919 million shares on 1.6.2010 and 2.6.2010 (32.36% of total market shares).

Surely this buying is based on unequal information which he possesses.

Who were the sellers of these shares?

Pity the shareholders whose shares were pledged as securities for loans which were forced sold.

How can this market be better regulated?

Here is an attempt at estimating the liquidation value of Kenmark:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tZ7l9at-gaLGGpM4h5RaOsw&output=html



Ref:
http://announcements.bursamalaysia.com/EDMS/edmsweb.
nsf/LsvAllByID/337D2BBAB10029B248257737003B6066?OpenDocument


Announcement Details :
Name
Date Acquired ... No. of shares ... %

BHLB Trustee Berhad for a discretionary trust
for the family of Ishak Bin Ismail
1.6.2010 ... 10,000,000 ... 5.61%

2.6.2010 ... 20,000,000 ... 11.22%

Unioncity Enterprises Ltd
2.6.2010 ... 27,691,900 ... 15.53%





Also read:
http://whereiszemoola.blogspot.com/2010/06/
more-incredible-news-flow-from-kenmark.html


----

Business Times
Ishak now a major investor in Kenmark
By Azlan Abu Bakar
alan@nstp.com.my
2010/06/04

Datuk Ishak Ismail, former KFC deputy executive chairman bought 32.36 per cent of Kenmark, a furniture maker, on June 1 and 2

DATUK Ishak Ismail, KFC Holdings (Malaysia) Bhd's former deputy executive chairman, is now a major shareholder of financially-troubled Kenmark Industrial Co (M) Bhd (7030) as he bought while others were busy dumping the stock.

He bought 32.36 per cent of Kenmark, a furniture maker, on June 1 and 2, as the stock hit record lows of between 3.5 sen and 4.5 sen. The group did not say who were the sellers.

Kenmark also did not say how much he paid for the stake but based on the closing and last traded prices of the two days, Ishak could have spent about RM6 million. He may have even paid much less, or probably half of that, if he had bought the stake at the days' lows.

Kenmark, a PN17 company, has yet to report its fourth quarter numbers for the period to March 31 2010 as its managing director and major shareholder James Hwang, a Taiwanese, went missing since last week.

From then on, the group went into a tailspin as two banks said it defaulted on loans, named a receiver to a subsidiary while all operations ground to a halt and some 400 of its workers were uncertain of their future.

Kenmark is now the subject of Securities Commission (SC) probe while Bursa Malaysia has ordered it to appoint a special auditor to ascertain if there are any irregularities.

The group has hired Messrs UHY Diong as its special auditor.

In 2001, Ishak was fined RM400,000 by the Sessions Court for giving false information to the SC.

A former politician, he was once involved in a battle with the Lau brothers for control of KFC. Ishak was firmly in control of KFC until the Asian financial crisis hit Malaysia in 1997.

Kenmark also named new directors yesterday. They are executive chairman Datuk Abd Gani Yusof, executive director Ho Soo Woon, and independent non-executive directors Ahmed Azhar Abdullah and Woon Wai En.

Kenmark's independent directors Zainabon @ Zainab Abu Bakar and Yeunh Wee Tiong have tendered their resignations yesterday.

"The new directors are currently assessing the current situation of the Kenmark Group and are in discussion with the receivers of Kenmark Paper Sdn Bhd to allow the re-activation of business operations at the business and corporate office at Port Klang soonest possible and restore market confidence," Kenmark said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia.

The new directors also stressed that all employees have been paid salaries up to May 2010 and all payments to statutory bodies have also been made.

On June 2, Kenmark said Hwang fell ill in China from May 24 and he could not be reached as his family barred all calls. The group's new directors hope that he could return by next month.

As for the other two Taiwanese directors, Chang Chin-Chuan and Chen Wen-Ling who were also said to be missing, they have made contact with Kenmark.

Shares of Kenmark have been suspended since June 2 and its last traded price was 11.5 sen.

http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/kenshak/Article/index_html

Wednesday 2 June 2010

A quick look at Kenmark (2.6.2010)






















A quick look at Kenmark (2.6.2010)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tyT8o3UdiCxgyUhc6ph3flg&output=html
















Securities Commission probes Kenmark


Could I have predicted what would happen to Kenmark from its accounts?
Definitely NO

However, it is most unlikely that Kenmark will be a stock I would have in my portfolio based on my investment criterias.  Therein, lies my protection against buying such a stock.

Interestingly, here are the comments in the latest SPG (Dynaquest) in its recently released latest edition of March 2010 on Kenmark:

Kenmark is engaged in the manufacturing of wooden furniture which are mainly exported to the West.  In FY 08, it expanded from the LCD TV trading and distribution into the assembly of LCD TV.  Its 9M 10 results exceeded our expectations with earnings soared by 129.6% yoy.  We saw significant improvement in the Wood-based manufacturing segment although Trading segment is not doing so well.  Looking forward, improving business environment and better margin are going to fuel Kenmark's profit growth.

It was obvious that those in Dynaquest did not and could not forsee what was coming in Kenmark then.  ;-(

Monday 31 May 2010

Kenmark shares halted as MD goes AWOL

Kenmark shares halted as MD goes AWOL

By Lee Wei Lian May 31, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 — Shares of furniture maker Kenmark Bhd were suspended after they sank this morning as news that its managing director went absent without leave spread in the market.

In a response to a query from Bursa Malaysia, Kenmark said only two independent directors of the company were present during the company’s audit committee meeting on May 27 to discuss the company’s fourth quarter results and that managing director James Hwang, a Taiwanese, has not been contactable since last Tuesday.

Kenmark also said that the independent directors discovered at the audit meeting that key company executives, including deputy general manager Goh Kim Chon as well as the finance and administration manager, have also resigned.

The May 27 audit committee meeting could not proceed as there was no representation from the management, and the fourth quarter results that was to be discussed was not made available. The independent directors subsequently tried to contact the MD on his mobile phone but were unsuccessful.

Attempt to contact the Hwang and the other executive directors at the company’s Taiwan office via the telephone and fax also failed.

Kenmark shares had fallen 19 sen to 14 sen by 9.15am and dropped another 3.5 sen before being suspended at 10.10 am. Trading in the shares will resume tomorrow.

The independent directors, Zainabon Abu Bakar and Yeunh Wee Tiong, had on the morning of May 29 gone to Kenmark’s premises at Port Klang. There, they noted that the premises had been sealed and a security guard placed to secure the premises.

Former Kenmark executives informed the independent directors that EON Bank Berhad (EBB) has been notified of the situation and EBB had, on May 27, placed their security guard at the premises. EBB will also be appointing a receiver over the assets of the company.

Kenmark Paper Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kenmark, received a letter today from EBB’s solicitors, dated May 28, advising of the appointment of a receiver.

Kenmark’s website states that the company was incorporated on Sept 15, 1988 and was listed on the Second Board of the KLSE on Nov 3, 1997, before transferring to the Main Board on Sept 3, 2001.

The website also states that part of the manufacturing facilities have been moved to Vietnam.

The independent directors will now make an appointment to meet with Bursa Securities today and said that they were willing to co-operate with all parties concerned.


http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/business/article/kenmark-shares-halted-as-md-goes-awol/