YNH Property reveals proposed RM150m land buy from 2022, calls non-disclosure an 'oversight'

• The property developer said this announcement serves to rectify its oversight pertaining to the proposed acquisition and is made in accordance with Chapter 10 of the Main Market Listing Requirements of Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 17): YNH Property Bhd, whose share price had tumbled 72% from a high of RM4.35 on Jan 4, revealed that it had proposed to purchase 5.1 acres of land here back in 2022 for RM150 million, cash, calling its non-disclosure of the deal earlier an "oversight".

In a bourse filing on Wednesday, the property developer said this announcement serves to rectify its oversight pertaining to the proposed acquisition and is made in accordance with Chapter 10 of the Main Market Listing Requirements of Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd.

In April 2022, YNH Property’s unit Kar Sin Bhd (KSB) entered into a sale and purchase agreement and supplemental agreement with Great Wall Park Sdn Bhd (GWP) for the land acquisition. The freehold land is located within Desa Seri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur.

GWP is the principal involved in the building construction, while KSB is engaged in the property development and cultivation and sale of oil palm produce.

Under the supplemental agreement, both parties agreed to terminate the turnkey construction agreement in 2016. KSB had paid the security of deposit of RM239.5 million under the turnkey construction agreement.  However, the filing did not disclose details about the turnkey construction agreement.

As such, they also mutually agreed that the security deposit of RM150 million shall be put towards the purchase consideration of the said land whereas the remaining sum of RM89.5 million shall be refunded by GWP to KSB within six months from the date of the notice of termination.

Subsequently, in a supplemental letter dated Sept 2022, they mentioned the sale and purchase agreement shall continue to be effective, valid and enforceable only upon the fulfilment of these conditions, namely that KSB does not continue to develop the land, the land is successfully sold by KSB to a third party purchaser, and the balance security deposit of RM89.5 million shall be refunded to KSB on or before June 30, 2024.

The land acquisition, which YNH Property viewed as a long-term investment, is subject to shareholder’s approval at the forthcoming extraordinary general meeting and is to be completed by June 2024.

The purchase consideration was done through direct negotiation between GWP and KSB. No valuation was carried out on the said land.

The company said last week that it is exploring proposals to sell certain landed properties of the company and its subsidiaries in response to an unusual market activity (UMA) query from Bursa Malaysia.

YNH Property, along with Rapid Synergy Bhd and Imaspro Bhd are associated with businessman Datuk Dr Yu Kuan Chon.

On Wednesday, heavy selling caused by margin calls after the sharp fall in share prices continued on YNH and related stocks.

YNH Property hit limit down again as it settled near a five-year low of RM1.22 after it plunged 29.48% or 51 sen. At RM1.22, the company was valued at RM645 million.

Dr Yu, with a significant 32.58% stake in YNH Property, experienced a paper loss of RM358.49 million due to persistent forced selling that wiped off RM1.1 billion in market capitalisation since Jan 9.

Dr Yu, who is the chairman and executive director of YNH Property, has said that the current sell-off does not impact the business operations and strategic direction of the company.

“In relation to the reason behind the sell-off of YNH shares and the movement of its share price, we are not able to speculate as the trading of shares and share price movements are determined by market forces,” Yu was quoted as saying in the Jan 15-21 edition of The Edge Malaysia weekly.

“It is business as usual and YNH Property will continue to be focused on delivering tangible value creation to its shareholders and stakeholders in a sustainable manner."

"YNH Property remains cautiously optimistic about [the] property market moving forward. We are pleased to note that our current project, Solasta Dutamas, is doing well as the first two towers have garnered a positive response from prospective home buyers," he added.

Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd has frozen the lower limit share price for YNH Property Bhd following a sharp fall in the company's share prices. Rapid Synergy Bhd and Sarawak Consolidated Industries Bhd similarly had their lower limits frozen.

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