Singapore Amcol names new board, faces investigation
Singapore Amcol names new board, faces investigation
SINGAPORE (Reuter): Trading firm Amcol Holdings Ltd said
yesterday Singapore's white collar crime bureau, the Commercial
Affairs Department (CAD), had started an investigation into the
affairs of the company.
Amcol, the subject of a fierce takeover battle between two
large shareholders, said in a statement the investigation
followed concerns raised over the affairs of four of Amcol's
subsidiaries and associated companies.
It said it had reconstituted its board of directors and
appointed three new independent directors on the advice of the
Stock Exchange of Singapore (SES).
All 13 existing directors had offered to resign from the board
and 11 of the resignations had been accepted.
They included Amcol's largest shareholder, Indonesian Henry
Pribadi, who has been fighting a long-running duel with
Singaporean businessman Sukamto Sia for control of the company.
"The company wishes to disclose that the CAD commenced
investigations into certain affairs of the Amcol group," the
Amcol statement said.
"The CAD visited the company's premises on Monday, June 24,
1996, and took possession of some of the company's books and
documents," it added.
Amcol's shares, which had been suspended since June 18,
resumed trade yesterday morning and fell immediately as news of
the CAD inquiry was absorbed by the market.
Amcol shares fell to a low of S$3.20 (US$2.27), down 66 cents,
before rallying slightly to S$3.32.
It was the most active stock in Singapore with more than 4.2
million shares changing hands in morning trade.
The SES said in a separate statement it had been informed on
June 3 by some Amcol directors of "certain irregularities
relating to the management of the company, its subsidiaries and
associated companies".
Amcol said some of the concerns were over the relationship
between Funai Singapore, 45 percent owned by Amcol, and Funai
Singapore's 55 percent owner Japan's Funai Electric Co Ltd.
It said there were worries over the effectiveness of internal
controls in the unit and unbilled goods possibly amounting to
about S$2.0 million.
The Amcol statement said two of the three new directors were
Wong Kok Siew, chairman of Singapore Technologies Industrial
Corp, and Ho Tian Yee, deputy chairman of the Singapore
International Monetary Exchange Ltd.
The third new director is K. Shanmugam, a lawyer and member of
parliament. The three new independent directors were appointed on
the advice of the SES.
The Amcol statement said the SES had expressed concern about
transactions and irregularities concerning the management of
Amcol and their financial impact on the group.
It suggested the directors review Amcol's operations and
financial position under the supervision of the three new
independent directors.
The Straits Times yesterday quoted Shanmugam as saying
shareholders had no reason to panic given the authorities' and
new board's attempts to investigate the matter.