Shanghai Turbo shareholders reject financial statements

SHAREHOLDERS of mainboard-listed Shanghai Turbo Enterprises have refused to accept the company's latest annual audited financial statements, at an annual general meeting on Tuesday.

They also rejected the re-election of four directors - instead picking four other independent directors and a non-independent one - according to vote results released after trading hours.

With three of the new additions nominated by former chief executive Liu Ming, the latest board reshuffle prolongs the extensive back-and-forth between Shanghai Turbo and Mr Liu.

Shanghai Turbo is no stranger to turbulent annual general meetings, either.

The previous meeting, in March 2018, made waves when the company screened a video purportedly showing a violent stand-off at a factory in China, when then independent director Raymond Lim and others were allegedly set upon with plastic batons.

Shanghai Turbo had earlier accused Mr Liu of staging a siege and encamping with associates on the premises of subsidiary Changzhou 3D Technological Complete Set Equipment, after he was voted off the board at yet another annual general meeting, in April 2017.

The two parties have been caught in a swirl of claims and counter-claims, including a lawsuit that Shanghai Turbo brought in 2017 against Mr Liu, for allegedly breaching his service agreement. The company has also previously applied to the courts to - among other actions - block Mr Liu from calling general meetings and from proposing and voting on resolutions.

Shanghai Turbo's latest annual general meeting, which was held at the Hengda Building in Cecil Street on Tuesday morning, was not open to the press.

Resolutions to adopt the financial statements for the year to Dec 31, 2018, as well as to re-elect independent directors Wee Liang Hiam, Philip Leng Yew Chee, Ong Sing Huat and Seet Chong Tong, all failed by the same margin, with a combined 52.6 per cent stake voting "nay".

Mr Liu, who has a roughly 30 per cent stake in the company, nominated independent directors Huang Wooi Teck and Lee Kiang Piaw, as well as non-independent director Wong Kee Hau. All three were accepted, with about 55.7 per cent of shareholding votes in their favour.

Mr Huang, 65, is Shanghai Turbo's new board chairman and lead independent director, as well as chairman of the nominating committee.

Meanwhile, Koh Wee Kiang and Loh Kai Keong were accepted as independent directors by 54.3 per cent of shareholding votes. They had previously been rejected as proposed directors, along with nominee Zhang Wen Jun, at an extraordinary general meeting in February.

Mr Loh now heads the audit committee, while Mr Koh is new chairman of the remuneration committee.

Both men were nominated by shareholder Lin Chuanjun, who lost a bid to become a director in the same earlier extraordinary general meeting, which he called alongside one Zhang Ping.

Mr Lin owns a 8 per cent stake in Shanghai Turbo, according to the latest annual report.

Separately, Shanghai Turbo also failed to garner a mandate to allot and issue new shares in the company, with shareholders representing 55.66 per cent blocking the resolution.