Ewein MD remanded by MACC

> Board says neither the company nor its subsidiaries are involved in the Penang undersea tunnel project

PETALING JAYA: Ewein Bhd confirmed yesterday that its managing director Datuk Ewe Swee Kheng has been remanded by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to facilitate and assist in an investigation.

Ewein noted that based on newspaper reports, the investigation is being conducted under the MACC Act 2009 for matters relating to the Penang undersea tunnel project.

“The board of directors would like to clarify that neither Ewein nor its subsidiaries are involved in the Penang undersea tunnel project.

“We do not expect this to have any operational, management or financial impact on the company as the deputy managing director Chuah Poh Lim will continue to run Ewein group’s business as usual,” Ewein said in a stock exchange filing yesterday.

The company added that it will make announcements on any further material development in the MACC investigation.

Last August, Ewein’s subsidiary Ewein Zenith II Sdn Bhd scrapped its plan to buy a piece of freehold land that the Penang government had given to Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZ) as payment for CZ’s work on the Penang undersea tunnel project and three related roads.

Ewein’s share price closed down 2 sen or 4.25% to 45 sen yesterday with 2.72 million shares done.

Meanwhile, shares of Vertice Bhd, formerly known as Voir Holdings Bhd, slumped as much as 13.8% yesterday following news of the MACC probe into the Penang undersea tunnel project.

At the close of trading, Vertice’s share price was down by 9 sen or 8.3% at RM1 with 4.98 million shares done.

Vertice was quick to make a filing with the stock exchange, assuring investors that its 13.2%-owned associate Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd will remain the main contractor for the project as previously planned.

The company added that the MACC investigation will not impact the progress of the project, which is an integral component of the Penang Transport Master Plan.

Vertice highlighted that it is not expecting recent developments to affect its financial performance, saying that the main revenue growth driver will be its wholly owned subsidiary Vertice Construction Sdn Bhd, which has bagged multiple projects worth more than RM100 million in recent months.

“We expect that this growth momentum will continue in the financial year 2018 and beyond,” it said.

On Tuesday, the anti-graft body conducted a large-scale raid on Consortium Zenith and several companies working on the project as well as the Penang state government agencies including the State Secretariat Office, Public Works Department as well as Land and Minerals Department.

Two company directors have been detained and remanded in Putrajaya and Penang magistrate’s courts in connection with the case.

The RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel project linking the island and the mainland was initiated two years ago and a final decision has yet to be made.