Legality of Asti EGM is ‘for court to decide’: Sias

THE Securities Investors Association (Singapore), or Sias, has urged shareholders of watch-listed semiconductor company Asti Holdings to attend both the company’s upcoming extraordinary general meeting (EGM) and annual general meeting (AGM) on Aug 22 and Aug 31, respectively.

Both events are seen by Sias as avenues for shareholders to discuss issues affecting them; and it is their “right as a shareholder to attend the meeting, ask questions, and vote”, said David Gerald, founder, president and chief executive officer of Sias, in a press statement on Friday (Aug 18). 

“In our view, the issue of legality of the EGM is for a court to decide and not for the company,” he added. 

The Sias founder was referring to Asti’s claims that the EGM proposed by four requisitioning shareholders is invalid. 

Separately, Asti issued a bourse filing on Friday reiterating its Aug 14 announcement where it advised shareholders not to attend the EGM scheduled on Aug 22, or lodge proxy forms in relation to the proposed EGM.

Sias will be holding a dialogue session with Asti’s board and management on Aug 21. Both parties welcome all Asti shareholders to attend and raise their concerns regarding the company’s latest developments and FY2021 financial results. 

The dialogue will look at Asti’s failures and breaches. It will also discuss EGM opportunities for the shareholders to hold the board accountable and seek changes. 

In its latest statement, Asti encouraged shareholders to attend its long-overdue FY2021 AGM as well as the dialogue instead of the EGM. 

“Any attempt by the requisitioning shareholders to carry on with the clearly invalid proposed EGM on Aug 22 (ie nine days earlier), is likely to cause pandemonium and confusion as to the carrying out of the FY2021 AGM. This will be harmful to the company’s good governance and business, and will be to the detriment of both the company and the general body of shareholders of the company,” said Asti’s board. 

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Shares of Asti have been suspended from trading since July 2022.