KUALA LUMPUR (May 16): Country Heights Holdings Bhd's chief financial officer (CFO) Yong Sie Hoong has resigned to “pursue other personal goals”, effective Tuesday (May 16).

Yong, 48, was appointed to the role on Aug 22, 2022, replacing Choh Kim Chiew and was a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) and CPA Australia.

He started his career in 1998 as external auditors with Deloitte Malaysia and KPMG Singapore. Subsequently, he held various positions in finance capacities in the construction, telecommunication, information technology and manufacturing industries.

He does not own directorships in any other public listed company.

In March, Country Heights Holdings Bhd failed to complete the acquisition of a 10-storey office tower, The Heritage Tower @ Mines Wellness City, for RM44.1 million after its unit Country Heights Sea Resort Sdn Bhd failed to pay 90% of the purchase consideration on time.

About a month later, news that its controlling shareholder and founder Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew had been declared bankrupt by the Shah Alam High Court in January over a RM3 million suit went viral. At that time, Country Heights assured investors that the "personal incident" of Lee would not affect the company's financial or operational performance.

Country Heights closed half a sen or 1.56% lower to 31.5 sen, valuing the group at RM93.87 million. The counter has been sliding since Feb 2, and has now declined as much as 37%.