This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on November 4, 2024 - November 10, 2024

The Yu brothers are still firmly in control of YNH Property Bhd (KL:YNHPROP), which went through a sharp selldown in January this year. In addition, unlike in previous years, most of its shares are no longer pledged to financial institutions.

Its chairman and executive director Datuk Dr Yu Kuan Chon holds a direct stake of 24.4% and an indirect interest of 8.17%. His brother, Datuk Yu Kuan Huat, holds a direct stake of 4.5% and an indirect stake of 29.3%.

Their stakes in YNH have been relatively unchanged from a year ago, when the situation was so different. Most of the shares held by Kuan Chon were pledged. The latest annual report shows that his pledged shares are only with Malaysia Nominees and Kenanga Nominees, and the amount is less than 3.5% of his total holdings.

In other words, Kuan Chon had probably mopped up the bulk of the pledged shares from financial institutions during the selldown in January.

As for Kuan Huat, the number of his shares pledged is relatively insignificant.

The fact that financial institutions are shying away from YNH shares comes as no surprise, considering that its RM1 billion joint ventures, which it has booked as inventory, are in question. The issue was highlighted by the external auditor last year.

This year, YNH has a new auditor and the RM1 billion issue is still in question, with the external auditor unable to form an opinion on its accounts. The company is in the process of disposing of assets and engaging external consultants to ascertain the status of its JVs.

Kenanga Investors Bhd is the property company’s largest shareholder, with an 8.75% stake, and its second-largest shareholder is Urusharta Jamaah Sdn Bhd, a special-purpose vehicle set up to manage the assets that were transferred out of Lembaga Tabung Haji in 2018 to help nurse the ailing pilgrimage fund back to health.

The other notable names in YNH are Fiamma Holdings Bhd and Signature International Bhd, which are linked to the Chin Hin Group Bhd. Fiamma and Signature hold a total of 2.4% in the property company.

A list of top 30 YNH shareholders includes individuals as well, which is not surprising, considering that its share price has been battered down. Nevertheless, the stock is cheap for a reason, and it is related to the RM1 billion JVs.

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's App Store and Android's Google Play.