Insider Moves: BIG Industries Bhd, Acme Holdings Bhd,AHB Holdings Bhd, KPower Bhd, Inari Amertron Bhd, Public Bank Bhd

Insider Moves: BIG Industries Bhd, Acme Holdings Bhd,AHB Holdings Bhd, KPower Bhd, Inari Amertron Bhd, Public Bank Bhd

FOR the week of Jan 17 to 21, notable shareholding changes at Bursa Malaysia-listed companies included those at industrial gas manufacturer and distributor BIG Industries Bhd.

Privately held Pristine Corp Sdn Bhd upped its stake in the company, acquiring 1.8 million shares and nudging its shareholding up to 13.47 million shares or 21.22%.

Pristine Corp is the vehicle of Lee Sheng Fung and Hoon Hin, who are substantial shareholders of the company but do not have any board presence.

According to BIG Industries’ annual report for FY2021, Pristine Corp as at end-September last year had 15.67% equity interest in the publicly traded company. Lee and Hoon Hin bought into Pristine Corp in May and July of 2006.

Late last year, former merchant banker Robert Ti surfaced as a substantial shareholder with 10.58 million shares or a 16.67% shareholding after taking up a private placement of shares.

BIG Industries closed at 70.5 sen last Tuesday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM44.75 million. From a multi-year high of RM1.81 last July, its stock has shed more than 60% of its value.

At Acme Holdings Bhd, Inspire Sense Sdn Bhd hived off 5.5 million shares, trimming its shareholding to 20.81 million shares or 5.66% equity interest.

Inspire Sense is the vehicle of Tang Tiam Hok and Ooi Kian Chuan, and it emerged as a substantial shareholder of Acme Holdings in April 2018 after acquiring 41.94 million shares or 18.24% in the manufacturing company and property developer. Checks on Bursa’s website indicate that Inspire Sense started selling shares in Acme Holdings in the latter part of November last year and ceased to be a substantial shareholder last week.

Late last year, WWT Wellness Solutions Sdn Bhd, controlled by Goh Choon Lye, acquired 59.79 million shares or 16.27% in Acme Holdings via a private placement and surfaced as a substantial shareholder.

Acme Holdings’ largest shareholders are Ooi Soon Hong and Husalmi Suhaini Shaikh Hussain, who, via their vehicle Nada Wangi Sdn Bhd, control 24.39% of the company’s shares.

Acme Holdings ended trading last Tuesday at 16.5 sen, valuing the company at RM59.2 million.

At office furniture manufacturer AHB Holdings Bhd, ARC Argent Asia Cap Sdn Bhd — the vehicle of Tunku Datuk Yaacob Khyra — ceased to be a substantial shareholder of the publicly traded company after selling 24.4 million shares.

Yaacob and ARC Argent surfaced as a substantial shareholder after taking up a private placement of 13.7 million shares or 7.22% in AHB Holdings in July 2020, at 7.3 sen apiece.

AHB Holdings’ share price surged from 6 sen on Jan 6 to 29 sen on Jan 11, before sliding to close at 12.5 sen last Tuesday, giving the company a market value of RM39.77 million.

Yaacob is best known for helming insurance player MAA Group Bhd, which recently bought into oil and gas and engineering company KNM Group Bhd and Turiya Bhd. The latter, which owns an office building in Damansara Heights, is in search of a core business.

At renewable energy company KPower Bhd, Datuk Mohd Abdul Karim Abdullah, who stepped down as a non-independent, non-executive chairman in December last year, ceased to be a substantial shareholder after selling 79.04 million shares in the company.

In the company’s announcement to Bursa, it said Mohd Abdul Karim’s disposal of shares was made in multiple transactions from February 2021 to January 2022.

Mohd Abdul Karim is currently embroiled in several legal suits with various parties and has been charged by the Securities Commission over discrepancies in statements made by his flagship company Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd to Bursa. Abdul Karim owns 21.22% of Serba Dinamik.

KPower closed at 35 sen last Tuesday, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM189.89 million.
Notable movements

Semiconductor player Inari Amertron Bhd’s stock has shed about 80 sen or 19.75% since the beginning of the year, closing at RM3.25 last Tuesday.

During the week in review, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) was actively trading Inari Amertron’s stock but it was a net seller, trimming its stake by 8.99 million shares to 224.2 million shares, or 6.05% equity interest. At end-2021, EPF had 5.63% or 208.55 million shares in the company.

Another fund, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan), acquired 3.13 million shares in Inari Amertron, increasing its shareholding to 8.76% or 324.89 million shares.

From early December last year, Public Bank Bhd’s stock has gained 30 sen, or 7.73%, closing at RM4.18 last Tuesday.

During the week in review, EPF hived off 15.83 million shares in Public Bank, reducing its stake to 2.98 billion shares or 15.34% equity interest.

At end-November last year, EPF had 2.86 billion shares or 14.75% equity interest in Public Bank.

http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/insider-moves-big-industries-bhd-acme-holdings-bhdahb-holdings-bhd-kpower-bhd-inari-amertron