This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on December 20, 2017 - December 26, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: Freight Management Holdings Bhd has trimmed its stake in Singapore-incorporated TCH Marine Pte Ltd (TCH) from 51% to 49%, turning the subsidiary into an associate. It first took up the stake in TCH in 2006 to expand its services to cover tug and barge operations.

Yesterday, it sold 53,000 shares or a 2% stake in TCH to Andrew Tay Nguang Yeow, a substantial shareholder and director of TCH, for S$149,000 (RM451,470).

The disposal is not expected to have any material effect on the share capital, shareholding structure, gearing, and net assets of Freight Management, it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

Except for Freight Management group managing director Chew Chong Keat, also the common director of Freight Management and TCH, none of the other directors and/or major shareholders of Freight Management or persons connected to them have any interest, direct or indirect, in the disposal.

“Freight Management’s board of directors opines that the above disposal is in Freight Management’s best interest,” the filing added.

Freight Management shares were untraded yesterday. It last settled at RM1.24 last Friday, with a market capitalisation of RM230.82 million. Year to date, the stock has climbed some 13%.