KUALA LUMPUR (March 1): Southern Steel Bhd has confirmed that its subsidiary was affected by the industry-wide audit conducted by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Southern Steel said Customs made a "surprise" visit to its subsidiary Southern Steel Pipe Sdn Bhd (SSP) on Feb 24.

"For the purpose of the audit, Customs took custody of certain documents and related financial records and has frozen certain bank accounts. SSP has extended and will continue to extend its cooperation to RMCD (Customs) on its audit," Southern Steel said.

The group added that its operations and financials will not be materially affected by the audit.

Yesterday, The Edge Financial Daily reported that the Malaysian Iron and Steel Industry Federation had lodged a complaint with the Ministry of Finance on concerns raised by its members regarding the industry-wide audit last week that was conducted in a "high-handed" manner.

Three other public-listed steel makers — Ann Joo Resources Bhd, Wah Seong Corp Bhd, and Amalgamated Industrial Steel Bhd — also informed Bursa Malaysia yesterday that their subsidiaries were affected by the authorities' investigation.

Hiap Teck Venture Bhd was the first to announce last week that Customs had taken custody of certain documents in two of its subsidiaries, and frozen the bank account in one of them "for the purposes of audits and investigations".

Shares of Southern Steel closed unchanged at 70 sen today, valuing it at RM293.59 million.