Corporate Digest

Kitchen Culture Holdings

KHL Marketing (KHLM) Asia-Pacific, a unit of Kitchen Culture, received a statutory demand from its landlord, Kim Hup Lee & Co on Sep 27, in relation to alleged rental arrears.

Kim Hup Lee has demanded payment of S$1.77 million in rental for the premises at 25 New Industrial Road, for the period between 2016 and 2018, Kitchen Culture disclosed in a Tuesday filing. Kim Hup Lee is owned and controlled by parties related to the Kitchen Culture's former chief executive, Lim Wee Li. But Lim has said that Kim Hup Lee remains separate from him and that he does not have any interest in it, the company added.

Kitchen Culture has since commenced investigations into the alleged arrears. The company has received preliminary advice that the arrears are not due and cannot be enforced in the manner sought by Kim Hup Lee.

Kitchen Culture said in its filing: "Accordingly, insofar as the alleged rental arrears are disputed, the group has been advised that there is no basis - in fact or law - for Kim Hup Lee to rely on the statutory presumption that KHLM is unable to pay its debts as and when it falls due."

The company, which supplies kitchen equipment, had dismissed Lim as CEO in July over allegations of "gross default or grave misconduct".

Kitchen Culture's shares last traded at S$0.08. Trading on the counter is currently suspended. Metech International ASIAN Eco Technology, a joint-venture company of Catalist-listed Metech International, has entered a three-year lease agreement for an industrial property at Kallang for the production of lab-grown diamonds. Production is expected to commence by the end of December, with the lab-grown diamonds produced on a bi-weekly basis. The company did not specify what the diamonds will be used for, but noted that diamonds are commonly used for industrial applications in the oil-and-gas, medical equipment and aerospace sectors. Samantha Hua, deputy chief executive of Metech, said: "The establishment of our specialised and high-tech production facility for lab-grown diamonds in Singapore is a pivotal part of our business strategy. "Sustainability is a core focus for Singapore's future development, and we believe that the sustainability features of lab-grown diamonds and its increasing applications are aligned with the growth trends of the future." Shares of Metech closed at S$0.265 on Tuesday, down 3.64 per cent.