Court orders compulsory winding up of TH Heavy Engineering

 The High Court orders TH Heavy Engineering Bhd to pay RM150,000 in costs from its assets to three of its creditors.

TH Heavy Engineering was delisted from Bursa Malaysia on Sept 5, 2022 after failing to come up with a restructuring plan despite being given eight extensions. (TH Heavy Engineering pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 The Kuala Lumpur High Court has ordered the compulsory winding up of TH Heavy Engineering Bhd (THHE) in allowing petitions from three creditors.

Justice Atan Mustaffa Yussof said the compulsory order was necessary in the interest of corporate governance after several issues were raised in the petitions, The Edge reported.

He cited issues such as questionable transactions by THHE, the lack of corporate governance, the need for independent probes, and the action of the previous interim liquidators.

“I have carefully considered the audit disclaimers, and in the interest of corporate governance that denied the creditors substantial rights, I am satisfied that voluntary winding up cannot be done on the compelling grounds of the serious concerns and multiple issues raised,” Atan said.

The judge ordered THHE to pay RM150,000 in costs from its assets to the three creditors, Globalmariner Offshore Sdn Bhd, Boomslang Technology Sdn Bhd and Dynac Sdn Bhd, who were represented by lawyer David Mathews.

Atan granted the application of the three creditors to appoint Chiang Teng Guan and Lim Tian Huat as joint liquidators, and dismissed a separate application by another creditor, Star Kriss Services Sdn Bhd, to appoint one Gabriel Teo as liquidator.

The judge said the three petitioners had the right to name the joint liquidators since they had 76.8% of THHE’s debt and the complex case required a forensic investigation.

THHE was delisted from Bursa Malaysia on Sept 5, 2022 after failing to come up with a restructuring plan despite being given eight extensions.

The company was controlled by a finance ministry unit called Urusharta Jamaah Sdn Bhd (UJSB), which held a 64.45% stake in the company prior to its delisting.

Lembaga Tabung Haji emerged as a substantial shareholder in 2007 before becoming a controlling shareholder in 2012. In 2018, the board of the pilgrimage fund transferred all its interest in THHE to UJSB.

In 2014, the oil and gas industry downturn pulled THHE further into the red, and it has not been able to recover ever since.

Attempts to shift its focus from offshore oil and gas fabricator to building vessels were unsuccessful in reviving its financial standing. - FMT