Melvin Tan Wei Yang and Lim Shi Wei, two shareholders who hold around 10% of the shares in USP Group BRS , are seeking a board overhaul.
USP Group had received a notice from Tan and Lim requesting the company to convene an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to change the board.
The notice of requisition has requested for the company to table 10 resolutions to remove five individuals who are currently the directors of the company and to appoint four other individuals as executive and independent directors.
The five individuals named are Tanoto Sau Ian, Djohan Sutanto, Caroline Wang Zixu, Tay Lak Khoon and Tang Mun Tak while the four others are Shek Chee Seng, Chan Chung Khang, Jason Fong Jian Sheng and Sim Mong Keang. The notice of requisition named Shek for the position of executive director.
This isn’t the first time that an EGM has been requested by the company’s minority shareholders to change its board.
On Oct 26, 2022, USP Group received a notice of requisition from Hinterland Energy Pte. Ltd., Harmonic Brothers Pte. Ltd., Hia Yi Heng and Lim Shiwei, who held around 10.0% of the total shares in the company at that time, to remove Tanoto from his position as CEO, executive director and managing director of the company. Djohan, Tay and Tang were the other individuals named. Joseph Tan Chin Aik, another director of the company, was also mentioned in the notice of requisition.
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At the time, the EGM was not convened for several reasons. In the Nov 24, 2022 filing, USP Group noted that “[Tanoto]’s involvement in multiple legal suits does not distract him from effectively serving [as] a CEO, executive director and managing director of the company”.
USP Group was placed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited’s (SGX-ST) watch-list from June 5, 2017, due to the minimum trading price (MTP) rule. The rule was removed for Mainboard issuers on May 11, 2020. The company may be removed from the watch-list if it records a volume-weighted average price of at least 20 cents and an average daily market capitalisation of $40 million or more over the last six months.
Shares in USP Group closed at 12.4 cents on Sept 6.
