Asti shareholder Ng Yew Nam says he has the relevant experience to save company

ASTI Holdings shareholder Ng Yew Nam believes his experience managing a semiconductor company since 2005 will allow him to pull Asti out of its troubled situation. He said he hopes to turn the company around and find a buyer for it.

Ng is one of four shareholders who have requisitioned an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to remove all five of Asti’s directors and replace them with Ng and four other individuals.

Notices of the EGM were sent to all Asti shareholders on Monday (Jul 31), Ng told The Business Times.

The notice was not released on the Singapore Exchange’s website, though, as Asti’s board says it has insufficient information to evaluate what is in the notice, and because it hopes to adopt a “discussive and communicative attitude” towards the requisitioning shareholders.

Ng is managing director of a company called iTrue Technologies, which is in the business of checking for cosmetic defects of passive electronic components, such as chip capacitors, resistors and inductors. Its financial records are not publicly available, as it is an exempt private company.

He believes he would be able to do several things for Asti, which packages semiconductors for safe transfer.

Ng said he would ensure that Asti’s FY2021 and FY2022 audits are finalised, so that a suitable exit offer for shareholders can be expedited. He would also reduce administrative expenses, and he speculated that the company may be lacking a marketing strategy.

Based on conversations with customers and business associates, Ng said there is interest and potential in Asti’s business. Producing audited financial statements would give potential buyers more confidence, he said.

Asti was placed on the Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) watch list in June 2019 because it had reported pre-tax losses for three consecutive years and its market capitalisation was below S$40 million over a six-month period.

SGX ordered that the stock be suspended in July 2022, as Asti was unable to meet the requirements to exit the watch list, and that the company or its controlling shareholders provide a reasonable exit offer to shareholders.

In May, Asti said that a consortium comprising Thailand-listed Capital Engineering Network (CEN) and Asti substantial shareholder Heah Theare Haw could make an offer for the company. The deal is subject to, among other things, approval from the Securities Industry Council.

CEN has energy, engineering and construction materials businesses. One of CEN’s directors also sits on Asti’s board.

CEN is in the process of acquiring a 19.89 per cent stake in Asti from former chairman Michael Loh. Heah held a 6.3 per cent stake in Asti on May 11, 2021, the date used for preparing the shareholding statistics in Asti’s last available annual report.

Asti’s board has questioned Ng’s suggestion that there are other “credible interested parties” with an offer better than the one on the table.

The board said it has asked the requisitioning shareholders for the “basis for the belief” that the new directors are in a position to secure an exit offer for shareholders, and how soon this offer can be secured.

The board suggested the requisitioning shareholders work together with it instead to secure an exit offer, as a change of board could jeopardise the deal with CEN and Heah.

Asti swung back into the black in 2022, posting a net profit of S$4.8 million on the back of a 23.4 per cent rise in revenue to S$67 million. It also declared an interim cash dividend of S$0.0045 per share.

The four requisitioning shareholders own 10.5 per cent of Asti, with Ng holding 6.9 per cent.

Ng became a substantial shareholder of Asti in December 2021, and had been gradually buying more shares until Asti’s suspension.

BT has reached out to Asti for comment.