Axington shares close lower on Monday amid owners' controversy; SGX RegCo weighs in

SHARES of Axington closed lower on Monday amid sharp intra-day hits following controversy around its owners' bid for English football club Newcastle United.

The Singapore Exchange's regulatory arm, SGX RegCo, has also weighed in, saying on Monday that it has "engaged" the company's continuing sponsor Novus Corporate Finance.

Catalist-listed Axington is controlled by cousins Nelson and Terence Loh, who acquired the company earlier this year using Dorr Global Healthcare, which they co-founded. Axington's non-independent non-executive chairman is Chinese businesswoman Evangeline Shen, an associate of the Loh cousins.

The trio are co-founders of the Bellagraph Nova Group (BN Group), which recently said it is in talks to take over Newcastle United.

Over the weekend, BN Group admitted to doctoring photos of former US President Barack Obama in its marketing materials. Doubts were also raised over claims the group has made, some in relation to the takeover bid.

In response to queries from The Business Times, SGX RegCo said: "In general, all directors appointed to the board of a Catalist issuer are required to be assessed by the issuer's Nominating Committee and continuing sponsor to be suitable to sit on the issuer's board, taking into account their experience, expertise, character and integrity.

"Where necessary, appropriate investigations should be undertaken to evaluate suitability in light of recent developments."

This comes as Axington's stock fell nearly 22 per cent to S$0.176 at the opening of trading on Monday. It traded briefly at S$0.185 during the afternoon, and then fell gradually to S$0.18.

The counter ended the day at S$0.22. About 486,000 shares worth S$90,000 were traded.