Koh Bros says its Van Holland residence 22% sold; KBEE unit spin-off gets SGX nod

FRI, JUN 26, 2020

RACHEL MUI


CONSTRUCTION, property and engineering firm Koh Brothers Group (KBG) said it has sold 22 per cent - or 15 of the 69 units - of its freehold luxury residence Van Holland as at Wednesday.

This includes the 10 units moved during the Holland Village condo's launch weekend in January.

KBG has built a 360-degree virtual tour of various units in Van Holland. This digital sales kit with interactive features serves to overcome the "difficulties presented" amid the Covid-19 outbreak, it said in a bourse filing.

That said, KBG expects a negative impact on its business and the group's financial results for the current financial year ending Dec 31, 2020, in view of the pandemic and any unforeseen circumstances that may arise from it. The company added that it remains "financially prudent and maintains operational agility to conserve essential resources to prepare for the post-pandemic recovery process".

Separatey, Koh Brothers Eco Engineering (KBEE) disclosed that the Singapore Exchange (SGX) has no objection to the proposed spin-off of its unit Oiltek. KBEE is, however, reviewing this plan in view of the Covid-19 pandemic and market sentiment.

KBG had a 77.29 per cent stake in KBEE as at March 19, 2020, according to KBEE's latest annual report.

In January this year, KBEE said it planned to spin off its 80 per cent-held indirect subsidiary Oiltek and list it either on SGX's Catalist board, or on Bursa Malaysia's Ace Market.

The proposed listing will also include Oiltek Nova Bioenergy, a subsidiary of Malaysia-based Oiltek. These companies are involved in the business of building edible oil refining plants and providing related services to clients across 32 countries.

In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, KBEE said it is "not too concerned" about project cancellations or defaults by clients due to Covid-19 as its clients are primarily government agencies or government-linked entities.

Meanwhile, KBG's proposed dividend has been reduced to 0.25 Singapore cent from 0.4 Singapore cent, whereas KBEE's proposed dividend has been reduced to 0.02 Singapore cent from 0.05 Singapore cent.

In light of this, the shareholders of both companies had asked if the proposed director fees and management remuneration could be similarly reduced "in the spirit of alignment of interest".

KBG and KBEE separately said that they have implemented a headcount freeze and that executive directors, management and staff have taken a pay cut with effect from April this year.

Shares in KBG closed at 17 Singapore cents on Thursday, up 0.4 cent or 2.4 per cent. Shares in KBEE finished at 3.9 Singapore cents, down 0.2 cent or 4.9 per cent.