ecoWise CEO welcomes SGX RegCo compliance notice and directives

ECOWISE Holdings chief executive Lee Thiam Seng has said that he welcomes the SGX RegCo's compliance notice served to the Catalist-listed company last Friday, and will extend his fullest support to the company auditor and continuing sponsor to comply with the requirements.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Mr Lee said the compliance notice validates his concerns over the company's internal controls and the release of its H1 2021 results despite his reservations as to their accuracy.

SGX RegCo has required ecoWise to appoint at least two new independent directors; have the company auditor RSM Chio Lim audit the H1 2021 results; and conduct an internal audit of the adequacy and effectiveness of internal control.

Mr Lee said he has written to the board to emphasise the importance of complying with the SGX RegCo's directives in a timely and responsible fashion. He proposed steps to this end, such as convening an urgent meeting to discuss the way forward and instituting weekly management meetings involving key management personnel, all directors and the sponsor to discuss and update operational, business and financial affairs.

In addition, he recommended reviewing all existing approval matrices as they may need to be adjusted to align with the controls required by the compliance notice and directive.

Mr Lee added that he welcomes a new law firm to replace ecoWise's current legal advisers for a fresh perspective.

ecoWise shares have been suspended since June 18, following a trading halt called on June 15. The shares last traded at 7.8 Singapore cents on June 14.