This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on June 19, 2023 - June 25, 2023

KAJANG-based stockbroking firm Apex Equity Holdings Bhd has been embroiled in longstanding boardroom tussles and shareholders’ fights over the past decade or so.

On Monday (June 19), Apex will convene its 33rd annual general meeting (AGM) — the first since the passing of Lim Siew Kim, daughter of the late gaming tycoon and Genting group founder Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong. She was estimated to have held at least a 32.28% stake in the company.

Notably, this is also Apex’s first AGM since the exit of the ACE Group, which subsequently paved the way for the emergence of two active corporate players, Datuk Seri Jacky Pang Chow Huat of Sanichi Technology Bhd and Datuk Eddie Ong Choo Meng of the Hextar Group.

Interestingly, five of the six existing directors are up for re-election at the upcoming AGM (see Table 1). Meanwhile, Apex’s single largest shareholder Fun Sheung Development Ltd — for the first time in many years — is nominating three directors to Apex’s board (see Table 2).

Fun Sheung Development, which has a 15.78% stake in Apex, was reportedly controlled by Siew Kim. Following her death, one can’t help but wonder who exactly is running the company, as well as her other businesses.

As it is, Siew Kim’s heirs are in dispute over the alleged contents of her will. Last month, The Edge reported that two of her children were disputing the will, which purportedly was executed on April 28 last year, and claimed that she had died intestate.

It is believed that Apex currently has two camps of shareholders. On one side are the shareholders linked to Siew Kim and her related companies. On the other side are Pang and Eddie, who came into the picture after the exit of the ACE Group.

In many ways, a possible boardroom reshuffle post-AGM may reveal the alignment of the various shareholder factions.

Recall that in 2012, Chan Guan Seng — the late founder of Apex — was shockingly ousted at the company’s AGM as his sister-in-law Siew Kim had voted against his re-election. The seasoned stockbroker, however, was dramatically reappointed two working days later after an emergency board meeting.

Fast forward to 2018, Guan Seng passed away and his death created a leadership vacuum at Apex, which has yet to be filled.

But what complicated matters was that a few months before Guan Seng’s passing, in September 2017, he had sold a block of shares to ACE Investment Bank Ltd (ACE IB) — a part of the ACE Group — which subsequently emerged as a major shareholder of Apex with a 25% stake.

The ACE Group was reprimanded by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) as the regulator said it was deemed “not a fit and proper person” to “become a controller of Apex”. As a result, the SC instructed ACE IB to sell down its shareholding in Apex.

Mercury Securities Sdn Bhd came into the picture in December 2018 when it proposed a RM140 million merger with JF Apex Securities Bhd. Under the proposal, Mercury Securities would emerge as a major shareholder of Apex with a 31% stake in the newly merged entity.

After long-drawn courtroom and boardroom battles, Mercury Securities called off the merger in April 2021. It is now eyeing an initial public offering on Bursa Malaysia’s ACE Market instead.

Then, two significant events concerning Apex occurred in 2022. The first was that on July 14 last year, Siew Kim passed away at the age of 73 after battling ovarian cancer, which she had been diagnosed with in March 2020.

Siew Kim, who was married to Guan Seng’s late elder brother Dick Chan Teik Huat, held at least a 32.28% stake in Apex. In addition to her direct stake of 2.79% in Apex, it is estimated that she also indirectly controlled the lion’s share of the company via Fun Sheung Development (15.78%), Yenson Investments Ltd (5.18%), Pinerains Sdn Bhd (4.39%) and Cergas Megah Sdn Bhd (3.73%), as well as via her late husband Teik Huat (0.41%).

It is not known what Siew Kim’s heirs intend to do. It is noteworthy that her will that is being disputed had given 70% of her total assets of RM1.6 billion to the Dikim Foundation, which she and Teik Huat had set up in 1983. The other 30% of the residuary estate is slated to be inherited by Siew Kim’s only son, Marcus Chan Jau Chwen.

The second event took place in December last year, when the ACE Group ceased to be a substantial shareholder of Apex after disposing of its entire stake in the stockbroking firm.

Following the ACE Group’s divestment of shares, investors wondered who might emerge as the new substantial shareholders of Apex, given that a big block of the shares was made available on the market at the time. About four months later, a few interesting names popped up in Apex’s latest top 30 largest shareholders list.

The top 30 largest shareholders list included Pang, Eddie and KIP Real Estate Investment Trust (KIP REIT) co-founder Datuk Eric Ong Kook Liong. According to Apex’s 2022 annual report, which was published at end-April on Bursa Malaysia, Eddie owned 6.4 million shares or a 3.16% stake in the company as at March 31.

His father, Datuk Ong Soon Ho, who started the family’s agrochemicals business under Hextar Group in Klang, Selangor, also had a 1.66% stake in Apex, while Eddie’s sister, Michelle Ong Tzu Chuen, controlled 2.69 million shares or a 1.33% stake in the company. So, the Ong family collectively held at least a 6.15% stake in the financial services firm at end-March.

At the same time, KIP REIT’s Kook Liong owned 3.476 million shares or a 1.72% stake in Apex in his personal capacity.

It is worth noting that Hextar Rubber Sdn Bhd, jointly controlled by Eddie and Michelle, is the single largest shareholder of KIP REIT with a 20.87% stake.

Two other Apex shareholders who are linked to Hextar are Lo Ngen Loi and Chen Sen Loon. Lo is managing director of Hextar Global Bhd’s agriculture division. He had 1.5 million shares or a 0.74% stake in Apex at end-March. As did Chen, who is Lo’s colleague as executive director.

Interestingly, Sanichi’s Pang owned 1.63 million shares or a 0.81% stake in Apex.

PDZ Holdings Bhd executive director Ho Jien Shiung also owned five million shares or a 2.47% stake in Apex, while PDZ substantial shareholder Florence Wong Wei Wei held 3.6 million shares or 1.78% equity interest. Sanichi is the single largest shareholder of PDZ with a 13.42% stake, followed by Wong, with a 9.87% stake.

Another notable name on Apex’s top 30 largest shareholders list is Proven Venture Capital PLT. The firm, which is jointly owned by more than 100 limited partners comprising high-net-worth individuals and entities, had 8.46 million shares or a 4.17% stake in Apex.

In February, Proven Venture Capital emerged as a substantial shareholder of BTM Resources Bhd with a 14% stake. The firm owns 5% of Local Assembly Sdn Bhd, a little-known Johor-based electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider that is in the midst of a reverse takeover of LTKM Bhd.

It should be noted that despite appearing on Apex’s top 30 shareholders list, none of these names were substantial shareholders.

A back-of-the-envelope calculation shows that the new and notable Apex shareholders, namely the Hextar family members and their business associates, Pang and his associates, as well as Proven Venture Capital, collectively controlled at least 18.58% of Apex at end-March.

Now, all eyes will be on Apex’s upcoming AGM. It will be interesting to see whether there will be a major boardroom shake-up after the meeting.

More importantly, Apex shareholders will be keen to find out who will be in the driving seat of the stockbroking firm. Will there ever be a solution to the company’s leadership vacuum, which has gone on for five years already? 

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