SEC orders IEC directors to convene board

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered every director of International Engineering Plc (IEC) to attend a board of directors meeting on Sunday to resolve a possible de-listing from the Thai bourse.

The market regulator wants IEC’s directors to resume the company’s operations as soon as possible.

The SEC’s order comes after IEC failed to submit its financial statements since the second quarter of 2016, prompting the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) to place a trading suspension order on the company’s shares.

The SET has also warned that the company could be de-listed from the bourse as a result of failure to submit a series of financial statements.

Sunday’s board meeting has an agenda to appoint an auditor to proceed with financial statement submission and resolve a possible de-listing from the bourse, according to the SEC.

IEC has five directors, which meets the requirement of Section 80 of the Public Limited Company Act of 1992.

The SEC requests all five directors to attend Sunday’s board of directors meeting to perform their duty as company directors and resolve the ongoing problems.

Failure to attend the meeting could be deemed as negligence of duty and honesty, in violation of Section 89/7 of the Securities Act 1992, the SEC said.

In November, the market regulator accused former IEC executives and their associates of reciprocated dishonest acts, asset misappropriation, seeking unlawful gains and filing incorrect financial statements to lure investors to purchase shares of the company’s subsidiaries, along with construction contracts and machinery purchases.

Two executives from IEC have been dismissed as a result of criminal charges brought by the SEC, as the Securities Act 1992 prohibits any person accused of a breach of trust to hold an executive position at a listed company.