Cheong Weixiong, executive director and CEO of Sinjia Land, has been called to assist in unspecified investigations by the authorities.
In an SGX filing on July 20, the company, which operates hostels, says Cheong was interviewed by the Commercial Affairs Department on July 19.
The company has also received a letter dated July 19 from the CAD and the Monetary Authority of Singapore to provide “certain information and documents” for a probe into an offence under the Securities and Futures Act.
Sinjia Land says it will provide full cooperation to CAD and MAS.
“The group’s business and operations have not been affected and will continue as usual. The investigations will also not affect the management of the group in the discharge of their respective roles and functions,” the company adds.
SinJia Land is in the midst of executing a US$2 billion reverse takeover deal with an entity, Binex Singapore, that will be in the sorghum-growing business.
See also: Sembcorp issues $350 mil of guaranteed notes due 2036 at 3.65%
Sinjia Land plans to pay for the acquisition by issuing 5.7 billion new shares at 35 cents each.
This price is at a 247% premium over the volume-weighted average price of 10.1 cents per share as of Jan 28, which is the last full market day prior to the execution of the sale and purchase agreement on Jan 31.
The proposed deal drew queries from the Singapore Exchange then, which noted that Binex Singapore has no revenue and had a net asset value of US$900,000 as of Dec 31 2021.
In its response made on Feb 5, Sinjia Land stated that the US$2 billion figure is a minimum consideration that Binex Singapore hopes to attain.
The figure, it adds, is based on a preliminary valuation carried out by an independent reviewer last July, which appraised Binex Singapore at US$2.515 billion to US$3.148 billion. As such, the acquisition at US$2 billion would be at a discount.
More recently on June 23, Sinjia Land announced it has paid US$1 million to Binex Inc, one of the shareholders of Binex Singapore, as a refundable deposit for the RTO.
The money, according to Sinjia Land, will be used to fund costs related to the transaction.
Sinjia Land shares closed at 5.3 cents on July 20, up 3.92% for the day – and down by nearly half since the proposed RTO deal was announced.
