This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on April 27, 2017 - May 3, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: Perak Corp Bhd said it is unable to issue its annual report for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2016 (FY16) to Bursa Securities within the stipulated time frame of not more than four months from the close of the financial year.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Perak Corp said it won’t be able to issue the FY16 annual report by April 30, as its external auditors require more time to resolve the substantial outstanding audit and accounting issues with the management of the company.

“The company has recently appointed Messrs KPMG PLT as external auditors of the company for FY16, following the resignation of the previous auditors, Messrs Ernst & Young.

“As this is their first year of audit, the external auditors require more time to resolve the substantial outstanding audit and accounting issues with the management of the company in relation to the audit to enable the issuance of the audited financial statements for FY16,” it added.

In the event that Perak Corp fails to issue the FY16 annual report by May 8, trading in its securities will be suspended on the following day.

“The management of Perak Corp is working closely with the external auditors to expedite the finalising of the audited financial statements, and expects to issue the annual report by May 31,” it said.

Perak Corp shares were untraded yesterday. The stock last closed at RM2.13 on Tuesday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM213 million.