Ho Hup board to meet over removal of MD plan

MD unsure about motive to remove him and other board members

PETALING JAYA: The board of directors of Ho Hup Construction Co Bhd will fix a meeting to discuss the intention of Low Chee & Sons Sdn Bhd and Choo Soo Har to call a special meeting for the removal of the current board and appointment of a new one.

Low Chee & Sons and Choo are substantial shareholders in the company. They had, on Tuesday, announced to Bursa Malaysia their intention to call for an EGM on Feb 4 for the removal of seven members of the board and appointment of six others.

Ho Hup group managing director Lim Ching Choy told StarBiz that he was unsure about the motive for the removal of the members of the board, which included himself and deputy executive chairman Datuk Vincent Lye Ek Seang, also a major shareholder.
»We’re going to have a board meeting to discuss the matter but we haven’t fixed the date yet« LIM CHING CHOY

“We’re going to have a board meeting to discuss the matter but we haven’t fixed the date yet,” he said.

Lawyers representing Low Chee & Sons and Choo were unable to comment on the matter when contacted.

This adds another twist to the ongoing tussle at Ho Hup, where Datuk Low Tuck Choy, one of three owners of Low Chee & Sons, had opposed the sale of two parcels of land held by Ho Hup and approved by the board headed by Lye on the basis that these were being sold at below market rates.

Low, a former Ho Hup managing director, is also a son of the late Low Chee, the company’s founder.

In an anti-climatic EGM on Dec 30 that news reports had predicted would be fiery, the resolutions to sell the two parcels were passed with both Lye and Low represented by their lawyers.

Ho Hup, an affected issuer under Bursa Malaysia’s amended Practice Note 17, saw its share price rise 164.17% from the most recent low of 33.5 sen on Nov 2 to end last year at 88.5 sen.

The stock has risen another 42.14% since Jan 4 to close at RM1.99 yesterday.

The company had also announced to Bursa that the board, which met Monday, had not come to a decision yet on a possible exercise to raise funds for immediate operational requirements pending the regularisation plans, which included a proposed 95% capital reduction and proposed new share placement exercise.