This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 10, 2026 - August 16, 2026

While Bursa Malaysia deserves credit for giving listed companies reasonable opportunities to rectify compliance issues, repeated extensions should remain the exception rather than the norm. Handal Energy Bhd (KL:HANDAL) has now been granted a sixth extension of time (EOT) to submit its annual report and financial statements for the financial period ended Dec 31, 2025, with the latest extension stretching another six months to Oct 31.

The regulator’s flexibility is understandable if a company is making genuine progress towards resolving outstanding issues. However, shareholders are entitled to ask whether Handal is moving any closer to putting its house in order.

The offshore crane service provider’s challenges continue to mount. In July, Handal disclosed that it and subsidiary Handal Imro Sdn Bhd were being sued by Deepetro Offshore Brokers Pte Ltd over the failed delivery of cranes. Separately, Handal Imro was served with a winding-up petition by Unity Force Sdn Bhd over an alleged unpaid sum of RM233,811.

Handal first announced in April that it could not issue its 2025 annual report within the prescribed deadline. Since then, it has obtained six EOTs, while trading in its shares has remained suspended since May after the company failed to meet Bursa’s reporting requirements. Its annual general meeting, initially postponed from June to July, was subsequently cancelled, with no new date announced.

The company has also experienced significant changes in its substantial shareholders over the past two years while remaining loss-making since the quarter ended March 31, 2024. For the first quarter ended March 31, 2026, it recorded a net loss of RM403,000 on revenue of RM5 million.

Since former group managing director Sunildeep Singh Dhaliwal ceased to be a substantial shareholder in 2023, several other key shareholders have exited, including former Wasco Bhd (KL:WASCO) group managing director and CEO Chan Cheu Leong in January 2025 and Handal executive vice-chairman Datuk Mohd Idzwan Izuddin Ab Rahman in March this year.

Mohd Idzwan also serves as a non-executive director of Bintai Kinden Corp Bhd (KL:BINTAI).

Extensions may buy time but they do not restore investor confidence. That will depend on Handal showing meaningful progress, restoring financial reporting discipline and coming up with a credible turnaround strategy. Shareholders have waited long enough.

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.