Investors of palm growers scheme to meet trustee
A separate meeting is also being arranged with CCM
PETALING JAYA: A group of investors from the ailing Golden Palm Growers Scheme, (GPGS) led by the Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group (MSWG), is slated to hold a meeting with the investment scheme trustee, MTrustee Bhd (formerly known as AmTrustee Bhd), this Friday.
A source said the meeting was basically for the affected investors to voice out their complaints and discuss their options pertaining to the proposed early termination of the scheme by its management company, Golden Palm Growers Bhd.
It is believed that a separate meeting is also being arranged with the scheme’s regulator, the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM).
“These meetings are important to ensure the GPGS investors are well prepared and know the best options for them ahead of Golden Palm Growers’ meeting with investors this coming Monday (Oct 2),” the source told StarBiz.
The management company’s meeting with the investors is to determine the fate of the scheme, with a recommendation for an early termination of the 23-year-old scheme.
Golden Palm Growers has designated 11,000 acres of land in Gua Musang, Kelantan, for GPGS, an oil palm plantation scheme.
As at Aug 20, a total of 26,550 Grower Plots (60.3%) under the scheme had been sold to investors, while the management company retained the remaining 17,450 Grower Plots (39.7%).
Golden Palm Growers managed to pay its investors a 6% dividend plus a bonus of 2% during the first two years of their investment since the scheme debuted in August 2010.
But in the past four years, it was reported that investors had only earned a 6% dividend minus the bonus.
Based on the latest filing with CCM, Golden Palm Growers posted a net loss of RM23.98mil for the financial year ended June 30, 2016 on the back of RM3.48mil in revenue.
Despite the value of its Gua Musang planta- tion having increased to RM220mil, the management company was unable to make payment obligations of repurchase requests from the growers of up to RM22mil and RM18mil for net yields payable to the grower investors.
In its notice to investors, Golden Palm Growers said a failure to make these payments would result in the scheme being liquidated and wound up.
Hence, the grower investors will be at risk of losing their investment should the land concession owner, Per bad an an P em ban gun an Ladang Rakyat Negeri Kelantan, terminate the 90-year concession agreement due to Golden Palm Growers being insolvent or in default of the agreement.
Therefore, the management company is proposing for an early termination of the scheme to ensure investors benefit from a sale of the plantation and get back 100% of their initial investment.
At the general meeting on Monday, Golden Palm Growers will need 75% approval from investors attending the meeting in person or by proxy to go ahead with the proposed sale.