KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 13): Hextar Group chief executive officer Datuk Eddie Ong Choo Meng has further increased his stake in fibre optic cable manufacturer Opcom Holdings Bhd to 20.69%, from 17.78% previously.

Ong bought 8.12 million shares in three separate blocks in the open market in the last three days, according to Opcom’s bourse filing on Thursday (Oct 13).

The businessman acquired 2.48 million shares on Tuesday, 3.14 million shares on Wednesday, and 2.5 million shares on Thursday. This raised his cumulative shareholding in the company to 57.74 million, from 49.62 million shares as at Oct 5.

Ong began to increase his stake in Opcom on Sept 29, after the company announced that it was diversifying into the telecommunication network infrastructure solutions business via the acquistion of  T&J Engineering Sdn Bhd for RM90 million.

T&J Engineering is understood to have won sub-contracts for the implementation of the Jalinan Digital Negara (Jendela) Phase 1 project in multiple locations across Sarawak.

Ong emerged as Opcom’s substantial shareholder in February last year by acquiring a 15.28% stake in the company. This came after Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, a son of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, ceased to be a substantial shareholder in the company, which he co-founded in 1994.

Notably, Ong is also a major shareholder of other listed companies such as Rubberex Corp (M) Bhd, KIP Real Estate Investment Trust, Pekat Group Bhd, SWS Capital Bhd and Classic Scenic Bhd.

Opcom’s share price closed unchanged at 79 sen on Thursday, with a market capitalisation of RM219.1 million. The counter has fallen 20.2% since the beginning of this year.