KUALA LUMPUR, 30 JUNE: After selling another 96 million shares or 2.57 percent in Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd on June 25, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has ceased to be a significant shareholder in the oil and gas services firm. Serba Dinamik said in a stock exchange filing that the shares were sold on the open market.
According to a back-of-the-envelope calculation, the recent deal gives EPF 185.08 million Serba Dinamik shares, or slightly under 5% of the company.
EPF is the second and final institutional fund to exit Serba Dinamik as a significant stakeholder. Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP) sold 26.03 million shares on June 1 to cut its holding in the company to 4.53 percent, down from 5.24 percent earlier.
EPF, which formerly owned over 10% of Serba Dinamik, began to reduce its holdings after the company informed Bursa Malaysia of numerous audit irregularities revealed by former external auditor KPMG concerning bills and transactions worth over RM4 billion.
Serba Dinamik’s main shareholder and group CEO, Datuk Mohd Abdul Karim Abdullah, was obliged to reduce his position in the company for the first time since the audit issue occurred in late May.
Abdul Karim sold 46.3 million shares, or 1.2 percent of the company, on June 28, according to the group’s filing, citing force-selling as the cause for the sale.
The sale leaves Abdul Karim with 957.76 million shares, or a 25.8% interest in the company, according to the filing.
Similarly, Datuk Awang Daud Awang Putera, co-founder and non-independent director, was obliged to sell 26.95 million shares, or 0.7 percent of the company, between June 28 and today, leaving him with 25.43 million shares, or 0.68 percent of the company.
Serba Dinamik’s dissatisfaction with KPMG’s handling of the audit findings generated a rift between the two companies, which resulted in a Securities Commission inquiry, a legal suit launched by Serba Dinamik against the auditor, and the mass resignation of Serba Dinamik independent directors.
KPMG eventually quit as well, citing a conflict of interest in the audit’s completion. Serba Dinamik’s stock price plummeted by over 80% as a result.
Following regulators’ directions, the group is in the process of appointing Ernst & Young Consulting Sdn Bhd as an independent reviewer by Friday (July 2) to examine the authenticity of the allegations raised by KPMG.
Serba Dinamik’s shares gained one sen today, or 3.13 percent, to settle at 33 sen, valuing the company at RM1.21 billion.
Despite a drop in trading volume from recent weeks, Serba Dinamik remained the most active stock on Bursa Malaysia, with 379.58 million shares traded, more than 2.5 times its 60-day average of 147.15 million.
Read also:EY agrees to be Serba Dinamik’s independent reviewer, but only on the condition that the company’s external auditors flag statutory audit issues so that an independent review may be set up. Serba Dinamik intends to sue KPMG, the external auditor, for claimed carelessness. KPMG has resigned as auditor for Serba Dinamik; it is now up to SC to unearth the truth. Four independent directors of Serba Dinamik have resigned in protest of the company’s lawsuit against KPMG. Continue reading
