KUALA LUMPUR (March 19): South Malaysia Industries Bhd (SMI), which has filed a judicial review application to compel the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) to hold a hearing on its complaint and come up with an official decision, said on Tuesday that the regulator had contended that its decision is not open to a review application under industry regulations.

SMI revealed that the SC, in its letter to the group in December last year, “categorically” stated that its findings “do not amount to decision of the SC that is open to a review application pursuant to Section 364 of the CMSA (Capital Markets and Services Act 2007)”.

Section 364 stipulates that the commission may review its own decision under the CMSA upon an application made by any person who is aggrieved by such decision.

SMI had complained to the SC in March 2023 that YB Ventures Bhd and Techbase Industries Bhd’s executive director Datuk Au Yee Boon and persons acting in concert (PACs) have allegedly amassed more than a 33% stake (in SMI) without making a mandatory general offer (MGO).

SMI’s statement on Tuesday is a follow-on from the SC’s two-paragraph statement last Friday, where the regulator said it had already looked into and acted on the complaint after receiving it about a year ago from the group.

The regulator also said it has yet to be served the cause papers of SMI’s judicial review application which SMI said it had filed to the SC earlier last week.

In its statement, SMI clarified that the judicial review application was in fact served and extended to the SC last Thursday (March 14) by SMI solicitors “and certainly before SC’s statement”.

SMI said that the regulator had communicated with the group on three instances after it filed the complaint last year.
 
The group detailed that the first instance was pursuant to a reminder by SMI's solicitor to SC on the complaint dated Oct 11, 2023, which led to a physical meeting on Nov 8 last year.

The subsequent two instances were SC’s response letters to SMI's solicitor in December 2023 and January this year.

SC had said it also had multiple engagements and communications with SMI on the issue, the most recent being in January this year.

Shares of SMI were trading unchanged at 63 sen at the time of writing, giving it market capitalisation of RM132.26 million.