Epicentre Holdings executive chairman and acting chief executive officer (CEO) Kenneth Lim Tiong Hian has been uncontactable since May 24, the firm said in a Singapore Exchange (SGX) filing
Following his week-long disappearance, Epicentre announced yesterday morning (May 30) that it has requested for a trading suspension with immediate effect.
The former Apple reseller said it will not be proceeding with a proposed placement of up to 79.7 million new ordinary shares.
It reasoned that Lim has been “key and instrumental to the proposed placement” and that it “does not have any monies held in escrow.”
Seeks Legal Advice
According to Epicentre, it has received statutory demands from three creditors on May 21 and 27 to settle its debts.
“In order to repay the existing liabilities of the company, the company is currently trying to come up with a workout plan to facilitate repayment to creditors,” said Epicentre.
“(We are also) seeking legal advice and assessing the potential impact on the group. This potentially raises issues in terms of the group’s and the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”
Following Lim’s absence, Epicentre operates under the leadership of independent directors, who are “considering all possible options in the best interests of the company.”
Epicentre was queried by SGX on May 24 for unusual price movements after its shares dived from 10.4 cents to 3.8 cents that day. They are now at 1.8 cents.
In response, Epicentre said that it was not aware of any information nor had any possible explanation which might explain the trading.
Last year, Epicentre posted a loss of S$7.1 million after cutting ties with Apple.
In June 2018, it also announced that it has sold its four physical stores and online store for a meagre S$516,275.
Featured Image Credit: SG Asia City
