KUALA LUMPUR (July 7): Datuk Seri Tan Choon Hwa is now a substantial shareholder of office furniture maker AHB Holdings Bhd, which recently announced the emergence of Kenanga Investors Bhd as a major shareholder and the appointment of Johor princess Tunku Kamariah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah Sultan Iskandar — the eldest sister of the Sultan of Johor — to its board as the group's non-executive chairman.
 
Tan acquired 33.01 million shares in AHB Holdings on Friday (July 7), which gave him a 5.426% in the group.

The loss-making company’s largest shareholder is RHB Trustee Bhd for Kenanga Investors — the investment manager of Kenanga Islamic Absolute Return fund — with a 28.69% equivalent to 136.36 million shares. It first became a substantial shareholder in April with a 15.957% stake representing 63.08 million shares, which it acquired as part of the fund's portfolio investment. It then upped its stake by acquiring 73.29 million more shares on May 9.

Tan, 66, was previously a substantial shareholder of radio-frequency identification solutions provider SMTrack Bhd with a 5.4% stake after acquiring 20 million shares from the open market in January, 2022. But a month later, he suddenly disposed of 10.46 million shares — about half the shares he bought — and ceased to be a substantial shareholder.

Then in March, he resigned as a non-independent director of Jiankun International Bhd on March 23.

Based on AHB's share closing price of 15 sen on Friday, the 33.01 million shares in AHB Holdings that Tan acquired are worth about RM4.95 million.

AHB, which is principally involved in the trading of office furniture and specialised computer furniture, has proposed to diversify its business into the trading of building materials, machineries and equipment, citing challenges it faces in its current industry due to higher cost of purchasing furniture from suppliers following the increase in raw material prices, as well as stiffer competition among furniture players.

AHB has a market capitalisation of RM91.25 million, based on its last closing price of 15 sen.