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Thursday, 19 February 2009
Two independent directors of Advance SCT resign
Two independent directors (IDs) of copper recycling firm Advance SCT have resigned, accusing the management of lack of cooperation to help them discharge their duties.
Two independent directors (IDs) of copper recycling firm Advance SCT have resigned, accusing the management of lack of cooperation to help them discharge their duties.
Their leaving, which took effect on Tuesday, came just days after the abrupt resignation of founder and group chief executive officer Terrence Tea Yeok Kian.
When Advance SCT announced the resignation of Mr. Tea last Friday, it also made known the desire of non-executive chairman Andy Lim and the IDs to inform shareholders of their unhappiness with management. The management was accused of not providing the IDs with sufficient cooperation, assistance and information to help determine the current state of business and affairs of Advance SCT and its subsidiaries.
The two IDs who stepped down - Wu Shen Kong and Lee Ai Boon - both cited difficulties in discharging their duties as IDs because of the lack of timely information and regular updates from management.
Following Mr. Tea’s resignation, Advance SCT has appointed executive director Kang Hui Huat as acting group CEO. Mr. Kang could not be reached yesterday and Mr. Tea declined comment.
The departures triggered some changes to the board. Advance SCT appointed businessman Ng Lai Teck as ID, chairman of the risk management committee and remuneration committee, and a member of the audit committee. Current ID Yeo Guat Kwang, who is a Member of Parliament, was appointed nomination committee chairman. He will step down as risk management committee chairman but stays as a member.
Advance SCT’s unhappy IDs singled out, in particular, the lack of information to determine the outlook of Malaysian subsidiaries TTM Industries (M) Sdn Bhd (TTMI) and Tsing Technologies (M) Sdn Bhd (TTM).
Ernst & Young Malaysia is currently doing a special audit to probe the receivables at these two subsidiaries and clarify their financial status.
The review is aimed at determining whether transactions with certain debtors and fixed assets were supported by documents and appropriately recorded.
But Advance SCT is now close to completing its disposal of these loss-making subsidiaries for RM200,001 (S$83,900) to Examplary Holdings Sdn Bhd (EHS). Yesterday, its chairman declined to clarify these issues concerning the subsidiaries, citing the blackout period.
The divestments are conditional upon EHS providing a full indemnity for Advance SCT from future liabilities of these subsidiaries, up to a period of one year from the date of agreements. The group has given EHS up to Feb 28 to complete the deal.
Advance SCT had also warned last November that losses in the second half of 2008 may be much wider than in the first half, due to lower demand for copper products, a writedown of inventories and potential doubtful debt provision.
It was then that it revealed that the departure of senior management in TTMI and TTM prompted a special audit for the nine months ended September 2008. During the special audit, certain issues concerning the recoverability of their accounts receivable were detected.
This led to the appointment of special auditors to probe further into these receivables. This review has not been concluded yet.
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Two independent directors of Advance SCT resign
By LYNETTE KHOO
19 February 2009
Two independent directors (IDs) of copper recycling firm Advance SCT have resigned, accusing the management of lack of cooperation to help them discharge their duties.
Their leaving, which took effect on Tuesday, came just days after the abrupt resignation of founder and group chief executive officer Terrence Tea Yeok Kian.
When Advance SCT announced the resignation of Mr. Tea last Friday, it also made known the desire of non-executive chairman Andy Lim and the IDs to inform shareholders of their unhappiness with management. The management was accused of not providing the IDs with sufficient cooperation, assistance and information to help determine the current state of business and affairs of Advance SCT and its subsidiaries.
The two IDs who stepped down - Wu Shen Kong and Lee Ai Boon - both cited difficulties in discharging their duties as IDs because of the lack of timely information and regular updates from management.
Following Mr. Tea’s resignation, Advance SCT has appointed executive director Kang Hui Huat as acting group CEO. Mr. Kang could not be reached yesterday and Mr. Tea declined comment.
The departures triggered some changes to the board. Advance SCT appointed businessman Ng Lai Teck as ID, chairman of the risk management committee and remuneration committee, and a member of the audit committee. Current ID Yeo Guat Kwang, who is a Member of Parliament, was appointed nomination committee chairman. He will step down as risk management committee chairman but stays as a member.
Advance SCT’s unhappy IDs singled out, in particular, the lack of information to determine the outlook of Malaysian subsidiaries TTM Industries (M) Sdn Bhd (TTMI) and Tsing Technologies (M) Sdn Bhd (TTM).
Ernst & Young Malaysia is currently doing a special audit to probe the receivables at these two subsidiaries and clarify their financial status.
The review is aimed at determining whether transactions with certain debtors and fixed assets were supported by documents and appropriately recorded.
But Advance SCT is now close to completing its disposal of these loss-making subsidiaries for RM200,001 (S$83,900) to Examplary Holdings Sdn Bhd (EHS). Yesterday, its chairman declined to clarify these issues concerning the subsidiaries, citing the blackout period.
The divestments are conditional upon EHS providing a full indemnity for Advance SCT from future liabilities of these subsidiaries, up to a period of one year from the date of agreements. The group has given EHS up to Feb 28 to complete the deal.
Advance SCT had also warned last November that losses in the second half of 2008 may be much wider than in the first half, due to lower demand for copper products, a writedown of inventories and potential doubtful debt provision.
It was then that it revealed that the departure of senior management in TTMI and TTM prompted a special audit for the nine months ended September 2008. During the special audit, certain issues concerning the recoverability of their accounts receivable were detected.
This led to the appointment of special auditors to probe further into these receivables. This review has not been concluded yet.
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