Annica Holdings demands overdue payment for disposal of subsidiary

CATALIST-LISTED oil and gas company Annica Holdings has not been paid the third tranche due for its divestment of GPE Power Systems, the board said on Thursday.

It has served a letter of demand for S$611,835.60 - including accrued interest up until Apr 30 - on Chong Shin Mun, who was to have bought out a 70 per cent stake in GPE.

The payment was originally due by Dec 31, 2018, but the deadline was later pushed back to Apr 30.

Annica is now demanding payment by May 16. It could seek further legal advice on recovering the outstanding amount, said the board, and might enforce its rights against Ms Chong.

The balance due for GPE is secured by a charge over the shares of a private company held by a party related to Ms Chong, as well as a personal guarantee by that related party.

Baker Tilly, which is Annica's auditor, recently qualified its opinion of the company's financial statements for 2018, over the recoverability of S$1.6 million due from the disposal of GPE.