Allied Tech independent chairman, CEO ousted from board

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - The shareholders of Allied Technologies have voted to boot out the company's independent non-executive chairman and its chief executive, and replaced them with three freshly elected directors.

The ouster, requisitioned by shareholders Lin Tah Hwa and Kenneth Low Si Ren, was supported by about 97 per cent of those who voted at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held on Wednesday (July 13), said a regulatory filing by the Catalist-listed precision engineering company.

Independent non-executive director and chairman Chin Chee Choon and chief executive-cum-executive director Clement Leow were shown the door. They will be replaced by Mr Lim Chee San, Mr Davy Goh and Mr Choo Weng Wah on the board, having been elected at the EGM.

Mr Lin owns 168 million shares of Allied Tech and Mr Low, 100 million shares; together, they represent 15.14 per cent of total shares outstanding. Mr Low is also an executive director of Allied Tech, shares of which have been suspended from trading.

The EGM was carried out amid an acquisition offer by private vehicle rental and financing company SRS Auto Holdings, at 0.88 cents per share. SRS Auto Holdings is owned by women's apparel company bYSI founder Tan Yew Kiat. It plans to delist the company if it can gain control over more than 90 per cent of the shares.

Allied Tech has appointed Xandar Capital as the independent financial adviser to its independent directors for the purpose of making a recommendation on the offer that values the firm at $15.6 million.

Allied Tech has been mired in a saga involving $33 million in escrow funds that went missing. Its then lawyer Jeffrey Ong Su Aun, former managing partner of JLC Advisors, who fled Singapore and was arrested in a Kuala Lumpur hotel, has been in remand since June 2019 and faces a litany of charges.

Trading in Allied Tech shares has been suspended since May 2019, amid concerns raised by auditor Ernst & Young over the company's financials.