Arthur Chew, the CEO of Mercurius Cap Investment has resigned from his role with effect from Feb 7. He is said to be leaving due to “increasing personal and private commitments”.
Chew, who was appointed to the position on Oct 25, 2022, is said to be owed “substantial amounts” of salaries from Mercurius. According to the Feb 7 filing, Mercurius and Chew have “come to an arrangement” with regard to the manner of repayment.
As at Feb 7, Chew holds 4.17 million shares in Mercurius. The company has some 1.39 billion outstanding shares as at the close on the same day.
In the meantime, executive chairman Chang Wei Lu will wear two hats as he takes on the role of interim group CEO until a suitable CEO is identified.
For the 3QFY2023 ended Sept 30, 2023, Mercurius made a narrower loss of $261,000, compared to the $369,000 loss in the same period the year before. For the 9MFY2023, the company’s loss deepened to $11.6 million from $1.2 million in the 9MFY2022.
In July 2023, Mercurius’ grocery subsidiaries, Songmart Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Granville Grocery Sdn. Bhd. and Tan Lee Heng Import & Export Sdn. Bhd. under the Songmart Group announced that the subsidiaries have ceased their business operations as at June 30, 2023.
See also: Interra Resources granted 12-month extension to meet SGX watch-list exit requirements
Songmart Group was said to have been suffering from poor financial performance, incurring consistent losses due to several factors including rising operational costs, competitive pricing, increased market players, and fluctuating market conditions.
Songmart was first acquired for $36 million in July 2021.
Mercurius has requested for the suspension of the trading in its shares on July 10, 2023, after its trading halt on July 3, 2023.
Shares in the company last traded at 1.6 cents.
