KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 28): The High Court on Monday dismissed an application by 29 creditors to stay a court-convened meeting for ACE Credit Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of ACE Holdings Bhd, which is scheduled to be held on Wednesday (Oct 30) to vote on a proposed scheme of arrangement to restructure the company's financial position.
However, Judicial Commissioner Saheran Suhendran @ Sockanathan Abdullah, allowed these creditors' application for ACE Credit to provide them with the copies of selected documents to be viewed at Baker Tilly’s office from 12pm to 3pm on Tuesday.
The four documents are:
- evidence of indebtedness by related company that is ACE Holdings in ACE Credit amounting to RM796.88 million
- evidence of indebtedness of Ace Investment Bank Ltd with ACE Credit amounting to RM15.365 million
- a copy of the portfolio sales and purchase agreement dated Nov 9, 2023 entered between ACE Credit with General Reserve of Digital Assets Ltd
- bank statements showing transactions between ACE Credit with ACE Holdings and ACE Investment Bank
Counsel Wan Sarimah Wan Hussain confirmed the outcome of Monday's proceedings when contacted by The Edge, and said while the stay application was dismissed, the applicants — led by businesswoman Che Normah Che Kerma — have the liberty to file afresh. It is understood that the liquidators had objected to the 29 creditors' application on grounds it should have been filed at Shah Alam instead of in Kuala Lumpur.
Her clients would now be able to view the documents before deciding on their next course of action, Wan Sarimah said.
The court-convened meeting was granted by the Shah Alam High Court on Aug 29, but the 29 applicants sought to stop it following the receipt of a liquidators notice sent to all unsecured creditors, including themselves. The applicants claimed they should not be classified as unsecured creditors, but should be treated as secured creditors.
They also claimed that the liquidators had admitted during their first meeting with the unsecured creditors on Sept 3 that the debt ACE Credit owes its unsecured creditors, including the 29 applicants, came up to RM877.595 million in the statement of affairs, compared to the overall claim of RM907.145 million. ACE Holdings was also listed as an unsecured creditor claiming RM796.88 million, they said.
So, the 29 applicants had sought to stay the meeting while seeking access to the four documents mentioned to review the debts ACE Credit owes, and the proposed scheme of arrangement.