KUALA LUMPUR (May 29): Bahvest Resources Bhd fell 8.89% at midday on Monday (May 29) to 20.5 sen, after the group's founder and managing director-cum-chief executive officer Datuk Lo Fui Ming said he and his son, Bahvest executive director Lo Tek Yong, were "seriously" considering resigning from the company, in a written representation.
At noon break on Monday, 84.35 million shares in the Sabah-based gold miner were traded, making it the day’s second-most actively traded stock on Bursa Malaysia.
The stock had earlier slipped to a low of 19 sen. Year to date, the counter has fallen 37.88%.
Fui Ming said the father-son pair mulled stepping down as group directors amid several challenges to focus on their "neglected" company Southsea Gold Sdn Bhd. The challenges include a poison pen letter accusing Fui Ming of stealing gold from the company, boardroom tussles, being raided by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, and halted mining production.
The written representation, which was shared on Monday, was released ahead of Bahvest’s extraordinary general meeting, which was scheduled for June 13 after a group of shareholders holding more than 10% of its shares sought to remove him, Tek Yong and non-executive chairman Datuk Seri Dr Md Kamal Bilal from the board.
Bahvest also emerged in the spotlight last week, after the MACC conducted a raid on Bahvest's wholly owned subsidiary Wullersdorf Resources Sdn Bhd’s gold mine and business premises in Tawau, Sabah.
During the raid, key management personnel, namely Fui Ming, Tek Yong, Chong Khing Chung (Bahvest chief financial officer), Shahrol Azuan (Bahvest chief operating officer and chief metallurgist), and Brando Pang Tze Ching (Bahvest assistant general manager), were detained and remanded.
“The persons who caused the raid by MACC have effectively caused the mining operations to stop since May 16 and cash flow to be severely impacted, putting the company in serious trouble, all of which are wholly unnecessary. Bahvest has suffered losses, and therefore losses in royalty to the Sabah state,” Fui Ming also wrote.