This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on February 17, 2025 - February 23, 2025

A graft probe involving Able Global Bhd’s (KL:ABLEGLOB) executive chairman Ng Keng Hoe has now expanded to include its CEO Edward Goh Swee Wang, who was remanded by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) last Friday.

The investigation concerns Ng’s “private company matters”, Able Global said in an exchange filing. The tin can and dairy products maker also said it would continue to “operate as usual”, the remand of its executives notwithstanding.

Ng holds 11.34% stake in Able Global, and his wife Lai Shin Lin has 1.12%. 

Swee Wang owns 7.55% stake in Able Global, while his father Goh Mia Kwong has 11.6% — the single largest shareholder in the group — and his sister Lisa Goh Li Ling has less about 0.134%.

The latest developments in Able Global bring to mind developer Lagenda Properties Bhd’s (KL:LAGENDA) experience in late May last year, when it announced that a key employee of the company was remanded in connection with a graft probe, following reports that a managing director of a real estate company was remanded by MACC to assist in a probe over the subdivision of Malay reserve land in Manjung, Perak. Lagenda Properties had said the probe was unrelated to the group or any of its units.

Lagenda Properties had also reassured shareholders that it was “business as usual” for the group. Even so, the news caused the developer’s share price, which was around RM1.72 prior to the announcement, to plummet to 85.5 sen — its lowest in nearly four years since November 2020. The stock, which closed at RM1.29 last Friday, has yet to fully recover. Strangely, there have been no updates on the case even though months have passed, leaving the investing public still in the dark.

While Able Global’s share price fell after news of Ng’s remand last Thursday — it dropped 19 sen, or 11.05%, to RM1.53 — the stock saw some support the following day, gaining five sen to close at RM1.58, Swee Wang’s arrest notwithstanding.

Considering the potential impact of news flow on listed companies, MACC should be mindful that its actions — or inaction — have the potential to destroy value in what may be a fundamentally sound company. As such, it is incumbent on the graft agency to clarify the focus of its investigations as soon as possible.

If MACC fails to do so, then Able Global — a profitable Main Market company that has consistently paid out dividends to shareholders — should take the initiative to provide more details about the case to better reassure investors of its non-involvement, and further distance itself from the negative developments.

Note: This article has been amended to correct an inaccuracy. The previous version incorrectly stated the name of Ng Keng Hoe's wife. The error is regretted.

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