Highlight Ho Hup clears legal hurdles

by **Cals** Fri 21 Feb 2014, 08:47

Highlight Ho Hup clears legal hurdles

Business & Markets 2014

Written by Charlotte Chong of theedgemalaysia.com

Friday, 21 February 2014 07:29

KUALA LUMPUR: Ho Hup Construction Co Bhd has finally cleared legal hurdles to acquire the remaining 30% equity interest in Bukit Jalil Development Sdn Bhd (BJD), which owns a 60 acre (24.28ha) tract in Bukit Jalil, in southern Kuala Lumpur.

Ho Hup announced to Bursa Malaysia that the Court of Appeal had dismissed Zen Courts Sdn Bhd’s appeal against the valuation of a block of 4.5 million shares it holds at RM35.97 million.

In a press statement yesterday, Ho Hup said the appeal court’s decision was made after hearing arguments on Zen Court’s application to appeal against a court order that fixed the price for the 30% stake at RM35.97 million or RM7.99 per share. The court also ordered Zen Courts to pay Ho Hup RM30,000 as costs for both appeals.

Ho Hup executive director Derek Wong Kit Leong said the company will now proceed to complete the transaction, as ordered by the court. “The buyout provides an exit for Zen Courts. As for Ho Hup, this gives it full control of BJD, which is currently developing a 60 acre freehold site in Bukit Jalil,” he said.

Yesterday’s judgment is expected to put an end to the shareholder disputes and legal tussles that have weighed on Ho Hup’s operations for the past five years.

Ho Hup was designated as a Practice Note (PN17) company in 2008. The current management is working on a plan to lift the company out of PN17 status.

Over the past five years, the company has seen major changes in controlling shareholders. The shareholder tussle started when Lye emerged as a substantial shareholder in August 2008. The rest, as they say, is history.

Ho Hup registered a net profit of RM2.7 million in its third quarter ended Sept 30 last year, a reversal from a net loss of RM657,000 a year earlier. Revenue, meanwhile, increased tenfold to RM61.6 million from RM6.6 million.

For the nine months ended Sept 30, 2013, Ho Hup posted a net profit of RM9.6 million, compared to a net loss of RM12.3 million a year earlier. Revenue increased to RM101.5 million from RM26.9 million.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on February 21, 2014.