CHINA Haida and Libra Group have been issued Feb 18 notices to delist from the mainboard and Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange for failing to meet their respective listing rules, announced both companies in late night filings on Monday (Feb 21).

China Haida, which manufactures building products, was served a notice of compliance (NOC) by the Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) in June 2021 to conduct a special audit on its finances as well as investigate the company's former directors.

China Haida said it had been unable to meet the NOC according to the timeline it set out, as the company had used the funds previously set aside for the initial retainer fee required by the special auditor to settle a separate statutory demand for over S$500,000 in loans from a related party.

It also did not provide further updates after announcing on Jan 28, 2022 that it was in the final stages of obtaining a loan for its working capital requirements, including funding for the initial retainer fees.

The company on Feb 21 submitted an appeal in response to the delisting notification, but said it will assess the possibility of a reasonable exit offer to its shareholders.

Separately, debt-stricken Libra Group was noted by the SGX RegCo to have contravened various Catalist rules - including failure to announce its unaudited financial results for H1 and Q3 FY2021 by the given deadlines, and not having a minimum number of 3 directors in its audit committee.

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Based on its records, the mechanical and engineering solutions provider owes S$58.7 million in debt as at end-2021. The Singapore Court also recently granted a winding up-order against Libra's sole operating subsidiary, Kin Xin Engineering.

Trading of the group's shares have been suspended since August 2019. The company has not submitted a proposal to resume trading since.

Libra said it intended to appeal its delisting notice as it is in the midst of implementing the company's financial restructuring as well as number of materials supply contracts "with a view to achieve value for shareholders".

Meanwhile, insolvent furniture manufacturer Design Studio was issued a delisting notice earlier this month on Feb 11, which the company's liquidators sought to appeal to explore a reverse takeover deal (RTO) for the company.

The mainboard-listed stock has been suspended from trading since January 2020.

Design Studio's liquidators in their appeal on Feb 15 requested for an extension of time until at least Apr 30, 2022 to determine if the RTO could proceed for 2 parties which expressed interest in the RTO.

This was however declined by the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading on Feb 17, on the basis that Design Studio did not have a definitive RTO target on hand - and that the company also failed to meet its deadline for submitting its trading resumption proposal.

In its bourse filing on Monday, Design Studio said it did not have the means to make an exit offer to any shareholders given its insolvency. Its controlling shareholder also confirmed it will not be making an exit offer, it said.

READ MORE: 

• SGX RegCo reviewing trades in China Haida, urges caution

• China Haida fails to get SGX nod for S$3.3m rights issue

• Libra Group's going-concern status crippled by claims

• Libra Group applies for extension till Dec 15 to comply with resumption of trading rules

• Design Studio Group files winding up application

• Design Studio CFO resigns as group makes plans to restructure