PROPERTY developer Sri Hartamas Bhd is facing the likelihood of being delisted from the main board of Bursa Malaysia as it has yet to find a white knight to rescue it from its financial woes. 

Sri Hartamas’ special administrator (appointed by Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd) Ooi Woon Chee said the company had on Nov 17 replied to a show cause notice from Bursa Malaysia on the de-listing of its securities and was currently waiting for a decision from the stock exchange. 

“We expect to have a reply by the first quarter of next year. However, there is a fair chance the company could be de-listed,” he said after Sri Hartamas’ AGM in Ampang, Selangor, yesterday. 

Trading in the PN4 company’s shares has been suspended since June 16, 2000. 

Ooi said the open tender exercise from Oct 22 to Nov 4 to invite interested parties to submit proposals to restructure the company had been unsuccessful. 

“Although over 10 parties – some of them merchant bankers and freelance consultants – attended our briefing, there were no bidders when the tender closed on Nov 4,” he said. 

Ooi believes the main concerns of the prospective parties are the possible delisting of the company as well as the Securities Commission's new regulations that remove the earlier concessions for reverse takeover exercises of PN4 companies. 

Ooi Woon Chee

“It is very unlikely that there will be any more open tender exercises, as the concerns will still be there, but we are always open to negotiations,” he said. 

The company had recently terminated a reconstruction agreement with Karambunai Corp Bhd (formerly FACB Resorts Bhd) due to the non-fulfilment by Karambunai of certain conditions precedent in the agreement and those imposed by the Securities Commission in its approval letter.  

On Sri Hartamas’ financial condition, Ooi said the company had settled RM200mil worth of liabilities in the last three years, especially to financial institutions that had a charge over the group’s properties. 

“There are some residual properties left sitting in the subsidiary companies and we are actively looking for buyers for them,” he said, adding that some of the assets consisted of condominiums and land in Port Dickson and Johor Baru. 

According to the company’s annual report, it had a net liability or negative shareholders’ funds of RM492.13mil as at June 30, 2004. 

Sri Hartamas recorded a pre-tax loss of RM6.63mil for the year ended June 30, 2004, compared with a pre-tax loss of RM105.3mil in the preceding financial year.