Ajiya's MD resigns after emergence of new substantial shareholder

KUALA LUMPUR (May 5): Ajiya Bhd has announced the resignation of Datuk Chan Wah Kiang as the company's managing director (MD), after almost three decades of serving the building materials manufacturer.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Ajiya said Chan's resignation is effective immediately, citing a "change of career path" as the reason for his resignation.

Chan is the founding member of the Ajiya Group of Companies and he was appointed to the board as MD in 1996 when the company was incorporated.

The 63-year-old ceased to be a substantial shareholder of Ajiya following the disposal of his entire stake in the company last Thursday (April 28).

A total of 31.38% stake in the company was disposed of by Chan — comprising a 20.76% direct stake or 60.57 million shares and a 10.62% indirect stake or 30.98 million shares — according to the filing on April 29.

The disposal consideration for the shares was not disclosed, but based on Ajiya's closing price of RM1.80 last Thursday (April 28), the entire block of 91.54 million shares was estimated to be worth around RM140 million.

It is worth noting that Datuk Seri Chiau Beng Teik — founder of Main Market-listed building material specialist Chin Hin Group Bhd — has emerged as a substantial shareholder of Ajiya after acquiring 93.35 million shares or 32% stake in the latter.

Apart from Chan's departure, Ajiya also announced Tan Seng Kee's resignation as its independent and non-executive director, citing "to pursue personal interest".

Shares in Ajiya dropped two sen or 1.69% to settle at RM1.16 on Thursday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM353 million.