Boardroom tussle at asiaep

KUALA LUMPUR: A boardroom tussle is brewing at ACE Market-listed asiaep Resources Bhd, after shareholders called for an EGM to remove five directors of the company.

On Feb 29, the loss-making provider of ecommerce solutions and e-marketplace platforms told Bursa Malaysia that an EGM would be held on April 6 to consider the removal of asiaep co-founders Tan Boon Nunt and Lee Suet Hong as well as three other directors namely Khor Chai Tian, Chu Kheh Wee and Lim Ghim Chai.

Boon Nunt is also asiaep’s managing director and chief executive officer while Lee is the executive director and chief operating officer.

The EGM was requested by Tian Ee Intertrade Sdn Bhd, Datuk Dr Clement Tan Wei Loon and Du Fashui, in a letter dated Feb 9 to asiaep’s board of directors stating that Tian Ee Intertrade, Clement and Du are holders of not less than 10% of the paid-up share capital of asiaep.

The EGM will also propose to appoint five new directors, namely Mohamed Jawad Khan, Clement, Tan Keat Chye, Li Junmin, and Dr Chin Yew Sin.

The substantial shareholders of asiaep include Topclass Access Sdn Bhd (7.46%), Tian Ee Intertrade (6.34%), Lee (2.06%) and Boon Nunt (0.24%). Both Lee and Boon Nunt are also co-founders of Topclass Access.

Meanwhile, Clement is the chief executive of Lestari Pasifik Bhd, which in August last year, had announced plans to build more than 600 bio-ethanol refineries nationwide and in Indonesia and also to raise Rm2.7bil for its operations from a public listing early this year.

Last October, asiaep announced that it had been awarded a Rm1.9mil contract from Lestari Pasifik to construct a bio-ethanol processing plant in Shah Alam, Selangor. however, subsequently, in February, it announced that the contract had been terminated.

For the nine months ended Nov 30, 2011, asiaep posted a widened net loss of Rm6.4mil from a net loss of Rm1.8mil a year earlier.

Revenue for the nine months under review dropped steeply to RM680,000, compared with Rm8mil a year earlier.