Another boardroom battle !

Seloga boardroom battle pits Halim Saad against Samsudin 

Two Seloga Holdings Bhd shareholders, including a company where Tan Sri Halim Saad is an indirect shareholder, are initiating an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Jan 31 next year to remove four directors, including Datuk Samsudin Abu Hassan, setting a stage for a boardroom tussle.

In a statement to Bursa Malaysia, Seloga said it received a letter dated Dec 27 co-signed by Usaha Citra Sdn Bhd, and Zulkefli Zaidi, giving special notice in compliance with Sections 128 and 153 of the Companies Act 1965 to call and convene an EGM with four resolutions to remove directors Datuk Lim Git Hooi @Robert Lim, Datuk Samsudin Abu Hassan, Datuk Syed Mohd Amin Syed Jan Aljeffri and Derek John Fernandez with immediate effect.

This is the second notice given within a month, with the first served on Nov 25 but without giving details of the date and venue of the EGM.

In the Nov 25 notice, Usaha Citra, and Zulkefli were said to hold 25,545,092 shares and 249,800 shares respectively, in the company, which collectively represented 21% of Seloga’s share capital. According to Seloga’s 2009 annual report, Halim is deemed to own a 26.62% stake of Seloga, as at May 18, 2010, through Lucky Lamp International Ltd, which has a direct stake of 5.83% in Seloga and owns shares in Usaha Citra.

Of the four directors, only Fernandez owns shares in the company, according to the 2009 annual report.

As at Dec 31, 2009, he had 1,000 shares, which is negligible. No reasons were given in the notice for removal.

Samsudin was a corporate high-flyer in the 1990s and was associated with Landmarks Bhd, among a number of other companies.

Apart from the four, Seloga has two other directors, Anuar Adam and Aldillan Anuar.

For the past year, the company has been trying to regularise its financial condition pursuant to Practice Note No 17.

For the 3Q10 ended Sept 30, Seloga’s revenue plunged by 53.8% from RM15.5 million to RM7.1 million. Its profit also took a dip from RM4.9 million a year ago to RM486,000.

According to the company statement accompanying the results, the drop in profitability was attributed to the cancellation and reversal of sales of 134 units of double-storey terraced houses contracted in May 2009 with one of Johor’s state authorities, amounting to RM17.2 million.

It said the sales were cancelled due to non-payment and the units, which are currently 65% completed, have been subsequently offered for sale to the public at a higher price of RM138,000 per unit.  All units except a balance of five have been taken up, according to the company.

Seloga’s current main development project is a commercial and housing development located in Taman Nusantara, which is within Iskandar Malaysia in Johor. The project, which covers about 120 ha, has been evaluated for a gross development value of more than RM600 million. Its past construction projects include the Taman Tun Dr Ismail mosque, Multimedia University Campus, Swiss Garden and Avillion Resort Hotel, residential townships such as Sime UEP and Wangsa Maju, as well as Subang Parade and Cheras Leisure Mall shopping complexes. - by Sharon Tan