Ipco applies to SGX for time extension to release Q3 results

CONSTRUCTION and turnkey project company Ipco International on Saturday said that it has applied to the Singapore Exchange for an extension of four weeks until April 14, 2018 to release its unaudited financial statements for the third quarter ended Jan 31, 2018.

This is partly because the two new independent directors - Ng Fook San and Joseph Chen - who were appointed at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in January this year, are carrying out a review of the company's financials and positions.

They have raised questions with management over certain transactions which appear to impact the financial statements of the company, Ipco said.

"The new directors are in close discussions with the newly appointed auditors of the company, Messrs Baker Tilly, regarding the past treatment and classification of these transactions. Depending on their findings, adjustments and/or disclosures may have to be made to shareholders in public announcements and in the third-quarter financial results," Ipco added.

Ipco is one of the companies implicated in the 2013 penny stock crash.

Earlier this month, it said that it had dismissed its chief financial officer (CFO) Carlson Clark Smith on several grounds of "misconduct", effective Feb 27.

Mr Smith first joined Ipco in May 2002. The board had decided to fire him as he continued to be absent from the office without seeking prior approval from the board, and did not conduct on-site visits of the group's subsidiaries in China and the US where he was key officer over the last four years. In addition, as a former board member, he failed to inform shareholders that his passport had been impounded by the Singapore Commercial Affairs Department since 2014, the board said.

This affected his ability to discharge his duties as executive director and CFO for the company's overseas operations, especially as sole manager of the US subsidiary, Capri Investments LLC. He was also laid off due to his decision to surrender Capri Investments' right to future land development, without first consulting the board or seeking its approval.

Ipco's new investor James Blythman, who requisitioned Mr Smith's ouster in the January EGM, replaces him as the group's new CFO.

Shortly after that, Ipco's interim chief executive Goh Hin Calm voluntarily resigned from his post. Goh, together with Ipco's former CEO Quah Su-Ling, face trial for charges relating to the 2013 penny stock crash.

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