USP substantial shareholder applies for company to be wound up

A SUBSTANTIAL shareholder of watch-listed USP Group has applied for the company to be wound up, the firm said on Wednesday. 

USP said it will be resisting this application.

The shareholder is Oon Koon Cheng, the director and sole shareholder of Sin Hong Hwa, which sold Koon Cheng Development to USP subsidiary USP Properties for S$32 million in 2016. He held 28.83 per cent of USP shares as at Feb 10.

The announcement is the latest development in the ongoing legal proceedings betwen USP and Mr Oon, who served the company a statutory demand on Feb 25 for repayment of S$1.5 million he loaned to USP on Dec 7, 2019.

The loan was obtained at an interest rate of 4 per cent per annum for a period of six months.    

In his statutory demand, Mr Oon said that if USP failed to pay, secure or compound the S$1.5 million within 21 days from Feb 25, USP would be deemed unable to pay, and he would be entitled to apply for the company to be wound up.

On March 16, USP filed for the statutory demand to be set aside.

In a separate filing, USP said it filed a lawsuit in Singapore's High Court on April 7 against Mr Oon, Sin Hong Hwa, and Li Hua, USP's former chief executive.

The company is suing the three parties for fraudulent misrepresentations, unlawful means of conspiracy, and failing to preform conditions precedent of the agreement relating to the sale and purchase of Koon Cheng Development.

USP is seeking damages of around S$14 million.

On Tuesday, USP announced that its subsidiary SII Scientific has concluded a successful production trial of its new hand sanitiser, with commercial production projected to start by the second quarter of 2021.

USP shares last traded on March 17 at 7.8 Singapore cents.