Sapphire says growth prospects of core business intact

SAPPHIRE Corporation's newly appointed CEO said that growth prospects of the group's core business remain unaffected by the termination of a proposed transaction that would have ushered in a new substantial shareholder.

The group had announced last month the termination of the conditional sale and purchase agreements that its substantial shareholders, Ou Rui Limited and Best Feast Limited, inked with Hong Kong International Construction Investment Management Group (HKICIM) and Forestar Assets Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HKICIM.

Sapphire's CEO Wang Heng is deemed interested in the shares held by Best Feast Limited. Ou Rui is a company incorporated in Hong Kong and is wholly owned by an individual, Li Xiaobo.

"The growth prospects of the core rail engineering business Ranken Railway Construction Group Co Ltd (Ranken) are intact despite the termination of a proposed transaction that would have resulted in a new substantial shareholder," Ms Wang said.

She was appointed CEO on Dec 15. Prior to co-founding Ranken, she worked in China Railway Construction for over 10 years, focusing on engineering and marketing. Under her leadership, Ranken undertook projects across 18 cities in China.

Ranken has an order book of 3.4 billion yuan (S$705 million) after winning three new rail contracts on Dec 11, 2017 worth 280 million yuan in its home city of Chengdu.

"We are securing new contracts and increasing our order book amid strong growth in the sector. We will bid for more new contracts while improving our capabilities, productivity and cost control, which will benefit our business in 2018 and beyond," she said.

Ms Wang added that she will draw on her 27 years of experience in civil engineering to strengthen the business and accelerate its growth in China.