AFTER what has been a deafening silence, it is heartening that Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd’s independent non-executive directors (INEDs) have come out in the open to voice concern over recent events which have taken the company by storm.
Chief among the message of the seven-paragraph statement is that the composition of the independent committee to assess the veracity and accuracy of the matters raised by the company’s external auditors (KPMG PLT) shall have no representation from the management to ensure its independence.
In ensuring that the company’s corporate governance is at the highest level, the INEDs – comprising Datuk Mohamed Nor Abu Bakar (chairman), Hasman Yusri Yusoff (senior INED), Sharifah Irina Syed Ahmad Radzi, Tengku Datuk Seri Hasmuddin Tengku Othman and Rozilawati Basir – have pledged to remain independent in executing their responsibilities.
The last paragraph whereby the INEDs “humbly seek the understanding & support from shareholders and stakeholders for the company to get through this situation” is indeed a subtle call to the investing fraternity – both at institutional and retail level – to allow Serba Dinamik to recuperate from its current predicament.
Since its resumption of trading, Serba Dinamik’s share price is still struggling to find a firm footing after having succumbed to a limit down closing on Monday (May 31). After briefly surviving a second limit down on Tuesday (June 1), the stock “was gasping for air” to hover in the 83 sen-85 sen zone for most of yesterday’s (June 3) trading session.
At 9.20am, Serba Dinamik was unchanged at 83.5 with 44.7 million shares traded, thus valuing the company at RM3.11 bil.
For now, convincing institutional investors not to dump their stocks in the name of ESG (environment, social and governance) breaches is of paramount importance.
Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP) has ceased to be a substantial shareholder of the company after the pension fund sold 26.03 million shares or 0.7% to bring down its stake to 4.53% on Wednesday (June 2).
KWAP is the first institutional fund that has sold shares after the news that Serba Dinamik’s auditor raised red flags on its financial accounts for the year ended Dec 31, 2020.
Other institutional funds which hold substantial stake include Employee Provident Fund with 10.18%, Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd, a unit of Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) (6.15%) and the State Financial Secretary Sarawak (3.4%).
Lending support to Serba Dinamik’s share price is non-independent non-executive director Datuk Abdul Kadier Sahib who further topped up his stake yesterday (June 3) with three million shares which he acquired in the open market at an average price of 83 sen, thus raising his stake in Serba Dinamik to 16.17%.
Recall that Abdul Kadier had on Wednesday (June 2) retracted his special notice to convene an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) for the removal of KPMG and nomination of BDP PLT as replacement
Thus is his second acquisition spree after acquiring five million shares on Monday (May 31). Abdul Kadier was appointed as a director in Serba Dinamik in July 1994, and subsequently became a shareholder in October 1994, according to his profile on the company’s website.
Apart from Abdul Kadier, head honcho Datuk Dr Mohd Abdul Karim Abdullah also did his part to cushion the blows by buying five million shares in the open market on Monday (May 31), thus controlling a 27.07% stake in the company he founded in 1993. – June 4, 2021
