SINGAPORE (May 30): Epicentre says it has been unable to contact its chairman and acting CEO Lim Tiong Hian since last Friday.
"Mr Lim Tiong Hian, Executive Chairman and acting Chief Executive Officer of the company, who has been key and instrumental to the proposed placement, has been uncontactable since May 24, 2019," says Epicentre in a Thursday night filing following a trading suspension.
See: Epicentre calls for trading suspension pending announcement
The company does not have any monies held in escrow, it added.
Epicentre will also not proceed with a proposed placement of up to 79.7 million new shares, it announced.
The company also revealed in the statement that it received statutory demands on May 21 and May 27 from three creditors and is seeking legal advice and assessing the potential impact on the group.
In order to repay the existing liabilities, the company said it is currently trying to come up with a workout plan to facilitate repayment to creditors
"This potentially raises issues in terms of the group's and the company's ability to continue as a going concern," it adds.
In the absence of Lim, the company says it remains under the leadership of the independent directors, who are considering all possible options in the best interests of the company.
In a separate filing, Epicentre announced an independent review of its FY2017 accounts by has uncovered "governance and internal control issues" regarding consultancy services agreements and a supply agreement in which Lim was involved, as well as a breach of internal policy relating to a $1.76 million loan, which might have amounted to breaches of listing rules.
Epicentre, the former premium reseller of Apple products in Singapore, had called for a trading suspension on Thursday morning before the market opened.
Last Friday, the company was queried by the Singapore Exchange for unusual price movements after its shares plunged 6.6 cents, or 63%, from 10.4 cents to 3.8 cents that day.
It replied then that the company was not aware of any information which might explain the unusual trading.
In December, Epicentre had terminated the $400 million proposed reverse takeover of two property companies -- a Thai property developer and Chinese hotel manager -- after selling off its loss-making Apple reseller business here to a competitor.
See: Epicentre eyes entry into regional property in RTO plan; ditches Apple reseller business, proposed rights issue
Shares in Epicentre last traded at 1.8 cents before the halt.
