Business

Tuesday February 12, 2013

Companies Commission of Malaysia to ensure proper Country Heights Grower Scheme refunding


KUALA LUMPUR: The Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) still has a role to ensure that the refund exercise by the Country Heights Grower Scheme (CHGS) management company to its investors is properly conducted in accordance with the management agreement, despite the recent termination of the scheme.

SSM chief executive Mohd Naim Daruwish said in a statement that the commission would continue with its investigations to determine whether the parties concerned have complied with the Companies Act 1965 in particular the trust deed and related agreement.

To recap, the CHGS investors at a general meeting last Friday had finally given the greenlight for the voluntary termination of the scheme which was launched in 2007, as proposed by the scheme's management company, Plentiful Gold-Class Bhd.

At the meeting, the investors have also accepted the goodwill package of about RM25mil which is equivalent to a 12% net yield payment offered by CHGS founder and Plentiful Gold-Class chairman Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew. This is on top of the company's offer for the one-to-one buyback plus the net yield payout from 2007 to 2011 of RM78.5mil and investors' fee refund payment totalling RM215.5mil.

Lee has personally guaranteed that all payments due from the termination of the CHGS would be made within six months, instead of the two years stipulated in Plentiful Gold-Class' recent circular.

Before the general meeting, a group of CHGS disgruntled investors had sought the assistance of the Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group (MSWG) to look into the scheme's termination proposal.

As a result, the CHGS investors and MSWG had come up with a counter proposal seeking a 12% dividend payment, 10% of the capital to be returned in one month and the remaining portion in six months from Plentiful Gold-Class.

According to Naim, the decision by the majority of the CHGS investors to approve the early termination of the scheme should be respected by all parties.

“That decision has been arrived in accordance with the terms and conditions as set out in the trust deed and related agreements,” he added.

The timeline and manner of the repayment to all CHGS investors have been included in the resolution passed by the investors.

“The said timeline and repayment are purely contractual in nature between Tan Sri Lee and, the management company and all investors.By voting for an early termination of CHGS, the scheme has now ceased to exist,” said Naim.

However, pursuant to the Clause 10 of the Grower's Management Agreement, the management company is under the legal obligation to refund the investors' fee to the investors. Failing which, action could be taken by SSM against the management company, he added.

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