Shah Hakim Zain resigns as Scomi Group CEO
Sammy Tse who joined board on July 24 takes over
PETALING JAYA: Scomi Group Bhd chief executive officer Shah Hakim Zain ( pic) has stepped down from the management of the oil and gas (O&G) services outfit, barely two days after its independent auditors raised doubts over the group’s ability to continue as a business.
Scomi Group told the stock exchange yesterday that Shah Hakim had relinquished his post to “focus on other business commitments”. Following his resignation, he has been redesignated as a non-independent non-executive director as compared to an executive director previously.
“Shah Hakim started his career as an auditor with Ernst & Young and was subsequently promoted as consulting manager, responsible for servicing large corporations. He went on to be appointed as executive director of a regional packaging manufacturer in 1992, with direct operational responsibility.
“He currently also sits on the boards of Scomi Energy Services Bhd, Scomi Engineering Bhd and KMCOB Capital Bhd,” stated Scomi Group.
Shah Hakim, who was appointed to the Scomi Group board in March 2003, holds a direct equity interest of 0.17% and an indirect stake of 8.11%.
In a separate filing, the O&G services company announced the appointment of Sammy Tse Kwok Fai, 55, as its new CEO.
The appointment came within a week of UK national Tse being appointed an executive director of Scomi Group on July 24.
According to the company, Tse started his career in IFS (HK) Ltd in 1990 before joining the Hong Kong Telecom Group (now known as PCCW Ltd) in 1992, where he held various positions culminating in the position of general manager of fixed mobile integration.
Later in 1998, he became the CEO of Hutchinson E-commerce Ltd, which is part of the Hutchinson Whampoa Group.
“In 2004, he took up the position of chief operating officer of entities within the South China Group before leaving in 2007 to take up the position of executive director and CEO of EPI Holdings Ltd, a company listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
“He resigned from these positions in 2016 but continues to provide consultancy services to this company,” it said, adding that Tse holds no stake in Scomi Group currently.
On July 31, independent audit firm KPMG highlighted a material uncertainty related to the going concern of Scomi Group.
It pointed out that Scomi Group and its subsidiaries had incurred net losses of nearly RM332.1 mil in the financial year ended March 31, 2018, on the back of a net current asset of RM80mil.
KPMG also said that Scomi Group’s financial health, together with several other matters, indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the group to continue as a going concern.
“Our opinion is not modified in respect of these matters,” it stated.
In addressing the concerns of the independent auditor, Scomi Group said it is pursuing to recover the claims over its project with Prasarana Malaysia Bhd, negotiating the repayment plan terms with the significant lender of its Line 17 Project and undertaking various fund-raising exercises over the next 12 months to improve the group’s working capital.