Pek Kian Boon, a former executive director of water treatment company Sanli Environmental, sold about 9.17 million shares on July 19 for $1.54 million or an average of 16.8 cents each. According to an SGX filing dated July 22, Pek sold another 4.5 million shares for $907,652.78 or nearly 20.2 cents each. With that, Pek is left with 23.9 million shares or 8.969% from 13.985% previously.
Pek’s sale came just a few days after the company on July 15 announced it had won a $72.67 million contract from the PUB for new disinfection systems at Johor River Waterworks. News of the contract sent Sanli shares from seven cents on July 14 to 19 cents on July 19.
Pek joined the company in 2017 and left in early 2019, citing a desire to pursue other interests. Since then, he has occasionally sold his shares in the open market. Before the transactions on July 22 and July 19, Pek’s most recent sale was on Sept 9, 2020, according to company filings, when 2.4 million shares were sold for $151,213.15.
In the past couple months, Sanli has been steadily buying back its own shares. Most recently, 200,000 shares were bought at 8 cents each, bringing the cumulative total number of shares bought back under the current mandate period to 2.23 million units.
Besides the company’s other founders and Pek, another noteworthy substantial shareholder of Sanli is Heliconia Capital Management, a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings.
According to Sanli, the PUB contract is for the construction and commissioning of new disinfection systems at Johor River Waterworks, located at Kota Tinggi, Johor, Malaysia. “Amid the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, the contract is a welcome win for us. It is also a reflection of the confidence that PUB has in us for delivering critical water treatment installations to ensure the sustainable supply of water to Singapore,” says Chua Teck Huat, Sanli’s CEO.
With the award of the PUB contract, Sanli now has an order book of $329.8 million which is expected to be completed by early 2026.
On July 26, Sanli announced revenue for FY2021 ended March was down 9.8% to $60.5 million because of a lower volume of work done. However, earnings in the same period were up 25.1% to $528,000 from $422,000 a year ago, thanks largely to one-off items such as government subsidies during the pandemic. The company is “cautiously optimistic” about its earnings for FY2022.
From rigging to fruits
Tan Kim Tjio, a substantial shareholder of KTL Global, has been adding to his stake in the company with open purchases. Tan, alias Tan Kim Chow, on July 13 acquired 3.5 million shares for 11.3 cents each.
On the same day, his wife Choo Lai Ling acquired 2.79 million shares for 11.5 cents each. According to a July 21 filing, Tan acquired another 1.29 million shares or 10.5 cents each. With that, he now holds a direct stake of 14.7 million shares or 4.66%. Together with a deemed stake of 2.72% held by Choo, Tan’s total stake is 23.3 million shares or 7.38%.
There has been a series of activities within KTL Global, which used to trade rigging equipment that was later sold off. It now describes itself as a “branding, operation and procurement services” provider.
On July 15, the company announced it is raising some $3.1 million by placing out 30 million new shares at 10.3 cents to a group of investors that does not include Tan. At 10.3 cents, the placement shares are priced at a 9.9% discount off the volume weighted average price of 11.43 cents last traded before the announcement. According to KTL Global, Tan’s stake of 7.38% will be slightly whittled down to 6.74% upon completion of the placement.
KTL Global plans to use the proceeds to expand into a new business of trading food supplies. On July 12, it announced a plan to buy 51% of EBUY, an e-commerce platform focusing on selling fresh produce in Singapore to food service providers, retailers, restaurants and hotels.
In June, KTL completed the acquisition of vegetable and fruits supplier Tianci Agritech for $0.2 million. The products are sourced from China. “We have made good headways with the new team’s background in fresh produce and agricultural trade as well as extensive business networks and experience in the import and distribution of food products,” says Chin Teck Oon, KTL’s executive director.
“The proposed share placement provides further impetus to accelerate our business plans to build a stronger business foundation based on the positive macro trends of Singapore’s consumer staples market,” he adds.
For the three months ended March 31 2021, the company reported losses of $335,000 versus earnings of $88,000 a year earlier. During the period, the company did not generate any revenue as the original business had been sold.
