UNLESS it can swiftly find the right candidates, Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd will end 2021 with a depleted board after Datuk Seri Mohamed Farid Abu Hassan gave up his chairmanship one month into his appointment, citing “biased regulatory prosecution” towards the company as his reason for stepping down.
Farid, 63, was re-designated as chairman of the global integrated oil & gas (O&G) service provider with effect from Nov 22 following the resignation of Datuk Mohamed Ilyas Pakeer Mohamed.
The ex-Special Branch chief had joined the board of Serba Dinamik on July 7 as independent non-executive director (INED) alongside former Bursa Malaysia’s head of corporate risk management Siti Zaleha Sulaiman.
Ironically, Siti Zaleha, 57, has also resigned from the company with effect from Nov 20 citing a similar reason as Farid. She was also a member of the audit committee, risk committee as well as nomination and remuneration committee.
Following Farid’s resignation, non-independent non-executive director Datuk Abdul Kadier Sahib, 72, has been re-designated as Serba Dinamik’s new chairman.
With the latest development, the company is left with two INEDs in Abu Bakar Uzir and Noor Azri Noor Azerai, both of whom were appointed to Serba Dinamik’s board on Nov 25.
Aside from Abu Bakar, 43, and Noor Azri, 22, the board of Serba Dinamik has three non-independent non-executive director who included Abdul Kadier, Datuk Syed Nazim Syed Faisal and Pengeran Datuk Awang Daud Awang Putera (who is also the company’s co-founder).
In all likelihood, board composition will be the least of worry among Serba Dinamik’s investors given the counter would usher in its second month of suspension tomorrow (Wednesday) after its shares and warrants were suspended from trading by Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd since Oct 22 for failure to provide an absolute update of its special independent review (SIR) findings.
Moreover, Bursa Securities had on Dec 10 rejected the company’s appeal for extension of time to issue its annual report that includes the annual audited financial statements for the financial period ended June 30, 2021.
Elsewhere, Serba Dinamik is also mired in a series of legal actions involving its former external auditor KPMG PLT, its special independent reviewer Ernst & Young Consulting Sdn Bhd and market regulator Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd.
Its financial woes climaxed with a net loss of RM42.11 mil for its 1Q FY6/2022 ended Sept 30, 2021 – the company’s first quarterly loss since its listing in early 2018.
On the brighter side, however, Serba Dinamik escaped being classified as a PN17 affected listed issuer – thanks to Bursa Malaysia’s PN17 relief measures (valid between July 1 to Dec 31, 2021) – after SD International Sukuk Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Serba Dinamik International Ltd, defaulted in an interest payment amounting to US$6.5 mil (due on Dec 9) pursuant to its US$300 mil trust certificates (due May 9, 2022).
Serba Dinamik was last transacted at 35 sen at the close of the mid-day trading on Oct 22 prior to the trading suspension of its shares/warrants, hence giving the company a market capitalisation of RM1.3 bil. – Dec 21, 2021
