KUALA LUMPUR (July 26): Sersol Bhd has received an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) requisition from its shareholders to remove its chairman and two of its directors, while replacing them with three new candidates.

In a bourse filing on Wednesday (July 26), the chemical manufacturer said the notice was served by Hillcove Sdn Bhd, which holds more than 10% of an equity stake in Sersol.

The EGM is scheduled to be convened on the morning of Aug 25.

Hillcove is seeking to remove Sersol non-independent and non-executive chairman Datuk Lim Tiong Siang and two independent non-executive directors, namely Shazreen Mohd Hatta and Sia Meng Chan, with immediate effect.

Tiong Siang is the father of Sersol chief executive officer Datuk Wira Justin Lim Hwa Tat, who is wanted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over his instructions and approval of five payments totalling RM2.5 million to a private company named HGC Legacy Enterprise.

Meanwhile, Hillcove wanted to elect three new directors to the board, namely Datuk Mohamed Suffian Awang, Alan Ling Sie Kiong and Tan Tong Lang, with immediate effect.

It is worth noting that Momahed Suffian is a former independent and non-executive director of FGV Holdings Bhd and former political secretary to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Sersol said that the group is seeking legal advice on the EGM requisition, while development on the above matter will be announced to Bursa Malaysia in due course.

To recap, Hillcove had last Friday (July 21) surfaced as a new substantial shareholder of Sersol with a 13.67% stake in the company, after acquiring 100 million shares in the off-market.

Based on July 21’s closing share price 11.5 sen, the block of 100 million shares which Hillcove acquired was estimated to be worth RM11.5 million, a back-of-the-envelope calculation showed.

Sersol's three existing substantial shareholders are Sanston Financial Group with a 25.95% stake, Hwa Tat (12.82%), and Lazarus Sec Pty Ltd (12.82%).

Shares of ACE Market-listed Sersol closed unchanged at 12 sen on Wednesday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM87.77 million. The stock has declined 50% year-to-date.

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