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.