Three independent, non-executive directors of Singapore eDevelopment (SeD) have pared their stakes in recent weeks. In contrast, executive chairman and group CEO Chan Heng Fai, has increased his stake instead.
On Aug 24, independent non-executive director Wong Shui Yeung sold just over 1.9 million shares for $124,715.90, or about 6.54 cents each. He is left with just below 1.1 million shares, or 0.07% of the company.
On Sept 4, another independent non-executive director Chan King Fai sold 300,000 shares for $17,100, or an average of 5.7 cents each. He is left with 1.7 million shares, or 0.11% of the company.
The most recent director who sold down his stake was Wong Tat Keung. On Sept 9, Wong sold 300,000 shares in the market for $19,500, or 6.5 cents per share. He is left with 1.35 million shares, or 0.087% of the company. Earlier on Sept 3, he had sold 350,000 shares for $20,650.
On Sept 9, the same day Wong made the sale, the company’s executive chairman and group CEO Chan Heng Fai snapped up 3.8 million shares from the market for $231,800, which works out to an average of 6.1 cents each. On Sept 11, Chan bought another 1.5 million shares at just over 6.1 cents, and on Sept 14, he added another 5.5 million shares at just over 6.2 cents. Chan’s direct stake in the company increased to just over 186 million shares, equivalent to a 12% stake. In addition, Chan also has a deemed stake of 918.73 million shares. In total, Chan controls 71.28% of SeD.
In May, SeD announced a share-swap deal worth US$50 million ($58.3 million) with Document Security Systems (DSS), which was completed on Aug 24. On Sept 9, DSS said it had initiated a bioplastics research collaboration with one of the world’s largest plastic manufacturers, focusing on the development of advanced types of microbial-resistant plastics.
For the six months to June 30, SeD, which is planning to change its name to Alset International, reported smaller losses of $36,000, compared to losses of $2.66 million in the year earlier period. Revenue in the same period was $8.4 million, down 65% y-o-y from $23.8 million.
Paring stake amid CAD probe
Substantial shareholder of AGV Group Ch’ng Ban Bee, via a married deal on Sept 9, sold 38 million shares for $950,000, which works out to an average of 2.5 cents per share. This follows an earlier sale of 46 million shares at 2.5 cents each, or $1.15 million in total. With the sale on Sept 9, Ong is left with just over 32.7 million shares, or 4.9% of the company. As his stake has dropped below 5%, he is no longer obliged to report further transactions.
The bulk of Ch’ng shares in AGV came about after a rights issue that was completed on July 7. He acquired some 101.7 million rights shares for $2.54 million, or 2.5 cents each. At that point in time, Ch’ng’s stake in the company was 17.49%.
Just days earlier before the completion of the rights issue, AGV announced that executive director Albert Ang Nam Wah was the subject of a joint investigation by the Commercial Affairs Department and the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Ang maintains he has done nothing wrong and has declined to step down from the board. Pending further investigations, Ang has been placed on a leave of absence.
On May 15, AGV reported losses of $193,000 in the half year to March, narrower than the losses of $3.2 million posted in the same period a year ago. Revenue surged from to $7.56 million from $1.88 million.
