Moves by some to oust CEO, chairman at upcoming annual general meeting
By CHEW XIANG 29 October 2008
Some angry shareholders of Catalist-listed E3 Holdings plan to vote against the company’s chief executive and chairman when the two are put up for re-election at E3’s annual general meeting on Tuesday.
The shareholders are unhappy at E3’s recent performance, particularly after a recent report by auditors Deloitte and Touche disclaimed an opinion on the company’s full-year financial statements, released on Aug 29.
The disgruntled shareholders want to remove CEO Jonathan Ow and non-executive chairman Ngo Gim Kang, spokesman Zeljko Lipar told BT.
The aggrieved shareholders include Armorcoat International, which owns 7.41 per cent of E3, according to its most recent annual report.
Deloitte said on Oct 14 that it had not been able to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to provide a basis for an audit opinion. Deloitte also flagged over $26 million in receivables for which it said it did not have sufficient evidence to conclude that the amounts were recoverable.
According to E3’s 2008 annual report, $22.2 million was remitted to the China bank account of Orientus (Jilin) Development Co, a company controlled by Kenneth Ngo, brother of chairman Peter Ngo. The sum includes about $8.1 million belonging to fellow Catalist-listed company Jade Technologies, which had put up the money as its part of a joint venture project that has now been dissolved.
The two companies had teamed up in January to buy a stake in an oil refinery in China and develop a plot of land in the north-east province of Jilin. Jade and E3 were then controlled by doctor-turned-investor Anthony Soh.
As well, a sum of $4 million represented receivables of a China-incorporated E3 subsidiary, whose accounts were audited by a Chinese accounting firm using Chinese standards, but this was not accepted by E3’s Singapore auditors Deloitte.
Another receivable account of about $167,000 represented an advance on expenses which Kenneth Ngo had racked up while working for the company in China and will be repaid, according to Mr Ow.
E3 said earlier this month that it had received seven poison pen letters, which are understood to have drawn attention to aspects of the company’s recent projects and strategy.
The company held cash and cash equivalents at June 30 of $1.8 million, but net cash used in operating activities was negative $5.9 million. E3 has survived by raising a total of $25.1 million from new share issues in the past year.
At Tuesday’s annual general meeting, shareholders are set to vote on the re-election of five directors. Besides Mr Ow and Mr Ngo, non-executive director Liau Beng Chye, independent director Chandra Mohan and chief financial officer Sieh Li Huan are also up for re-election.
When contacted, Mr Ow declined to comment for this story.
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Shareholder revolt looms for E3 Holdings
Moves by some to oust CEO, chairman at upcoming annual general meeting
By CHEW XIANG
29 October 2008
Some angry shareholders of Catalist-listed E3 Holdings plan to vote against the company’s chief executive and chairman when the two are put up for re-election at E3’s annual general meeting on Tuesday.
The shareholders are unhappy at E3’s recent performance, particularly after a recent report by auditors Deloitte and Touche disclaimed an opinion on the company’s full-year financial statements, released on Aug 29.
The disgruntled shareholders want to remove CEO Jonathan Ow and non-executive chairman Ngo Gim Kang, spokesman Zeljko Lipar told BT.
The aggrieved shareholders include Armorcoat International, which owns 7.41 per cent of E3, according to its most recent annual report.
Deloitte said on Oct 14 that it had not been able to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to provide a basis for an audit opinion. Deloitte also flagged over $26 million in receivables for which it said it did not have sufficient evidence to conclude that the amounts were recoverable.
According to E3’s 2008 annual report, $22.2 million was remitted to the China bank account of Orientus (Jilin) Development Co, a company controlled by Kenneth Ngo, brother of chairman Peter Ngo. The sum includes about $8.1 million belonging to fellow Catalist-listed company Jade Technologies, which had put up the money as its part of a joint venture project that has now been dissolved.
The two companies had teamed up in January to buy a stake in an oil refinery in China and develop a plot of land in the north-east province of Jilin. Jade and E3 were then controlled by doctor-turned-investor Anthony Soh.
As well, a sum of $4 million represented receivables of a China-incorporated E3 subsidiary, whose accounts were audited by a Chinese accounting firm using Chinese standards, but this was not accepted by E3’s Singapore auditors Deloitte.
Another receivable account of about $167,000 represented an advance on expenses which Kenneth Ngo had racked up while working for the company in China and will be repaid, according to Mr Ow.
E3 said earlier this month that it had received seven poison pen letters, which are understood to have drawn attention to aspects of the company’s recent projects and strategy.
The company held cash and cash equivalents at June 30 of $1.8 million, but net cash used in operating activities was negative $5.9 million. E3 has survived by raising a total of $25.1 million from new share issues in the past year.
At Tuesday’s annual general meeting, shareholders are set to vote on the re-election of five directors. Besides Mr Ow and Mr Ngo, non-executive director Liau Beng Chye, independent director Chandra Mohan and chief financial officer Sieh Li Huan are also up for re-election.
When contacted, Mr Ow declined to comment for this story.
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