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Tuesday 4 November 2008
E3 to thrash out future of CEO, chairman today
Shareholders of troubled E3 Holdings are meeting this morning to thrash out the fate of the company’s management. Also at stake is over $26 million that has been sent to China to support the company’s investments there.
Shareholders of troubled E3 Holdings are meeting this morning to thrash out the fate of the company’s management. Also at stake is over $26 million that has been sent to China to support the company’s investments there.
A group of shareholders led by Armorcoat International, which owns 7.41 per cent of the literally penny stock, wants to oust chief executive officer Jonathan Ow and chairman Peter Ngo. They also want more disclosure on the use of the $26 million - more than the company’s market capitalisation as at yesterday - and if necessary, to recover the money from China.
Meanwhile, the co-founder of the company, Liau Beng Chye, is bidding to wrest back control but has been hit by accusations that he wrote poison pen letters and sent them to various parties as well as the company’s auditor.
E3 on Friday relieved him of his executive duties at the company’s subsidiary and has asked him to resign as a director, saying that his laptop computer had been found to contain traces of the letters.
Mr Liau, previously deputy chairman but now a non-executive director, told BT yesterday he would be standing for re-election today and said that if re-elected he would be taking an active and leading role in the company. He said he would track the money in China and ensure it was properly accounted for.
Three weeks ago, E3’s auditors Deloitte and Touche flagged certain accounts receivable totalling over $26 million for which it said it did not have sufficient evidence to conclude that the amounts were recoverable. It also said that it had not been able to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to provide a basis for an audit opinion.
Much of the $26 million, raised in the past year through a number of share issues, was sent to China to support the two deals.
The money was sent through a company set up by Kenneth Ngo, the brother of E3 chairman Peter Ngo, a detail disclosed at the time. About $8 million of that sum is due to Jade Technologies, a former partner in the China deals.
Mr Liau is also claiming that the termination of his service was ‘unlawful’ and that any attempt to ask him to resign was ‘entirely misconceived and without legal basis’.
He has been sidelined recently after new shareholders, including doctor-turned-investor Anthony Soh, took control of the company earlier this year.
After Dr Soh ran into trouble with the botched takeover of Jade Technologies and left the company, present CEO Jonathan Ow took charge of pushing E3’s new businesses in an oil refinery and real estate project in China’s Jilin province.
For at least the third year running, the company’s auditors have highlighted that material uncertainties exist that cast significant doubt on E3’s ability to continue as a going concern. The company, which lost more than $6 million this year, has had to raise millions from investors to stay afloat.
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E3 to thrash out future of CEO, chairman today
By CHEW XIANG
4 November 2008
Shareholders of troubled E3 Holdings are meeting this morning to thrash out the fate of the company’s management. Also at stake is over $26 million that has been sent to China to support the company’s investments there.
A group of shareholders led by Armorcoat International, which owns 7.41 per cent of the literally penny stock, wants to oust chief executive officer Jonathan Ow and chairman Peter Ngo. They also want more disclosure on the use of the $26 million - more than the company’s market capitalisation as at yesterday - and if necessary, to recover the money from China.
Meanwhile, the co-founder of the company, Liau Beng Chye, is bidding to wrest back control but has been hit by accusations that he wrote poison pen letters and sent them to various parties as well as the company’s auditor.
E3 on Friday relieved him of his executive duties at the company’s subsidiary and has asked him to resign as a director, saying that his laptop computer had been found to contain traces of the letters.
Mr Liau, previously deputy chairman but now a non-executive director, told BT yesterday he would be standing for re-election today and said that if re-elected he would be taking an active and leading role in the company. He said he would track the money in China and ensure it was properly accounted for.
Three weeks ago, E3’s auditors Deloitte and Touche flagged certain accounts receivable totalling over $26 million for which it said it did not have sufficient evidence to conclude that the amounts were recoverable. It also said that it had not been able to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to provide a basis for an audit opinion.
Much of the $26 million, raised in the past year through a number of share issues, was sent to China to support the two deals.
The money was sent through a company set up by Kenneth Ngo, the brother of E3 chairman Peter Ngo, a detail disclosed at the time. About $8 million of that sum is due to Jade Technologies, a former partner in the China deals.
Mr Liau is also claiming that the termination of his service was ‘unlawful’ and that any attempt to ask him to resign was ‘entirely misconceived and without legal basis’.
He has been sidelined recently after new shareholders, including doctor-turned-investor Anthony Soh, took control of the company earlier this year.
After Dr Soh ran into trouble with the botched takeover of Jade Technologies and left the company, present CEO Jonathan Ow took charge of pushing E3’s new businesses in an oil refinery and real estate project in China’s Jilin province.
For at least the third year running, the company’s auditors have highlighted that material uncertainties exist that cast significant doubt on E3’s ability to continue as a going concern. The company, which lost more than $6 million this year, has had to raise millions from investors to stay afloat.
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