Awantec assures shareholders company to remain listed, to appeal on regularisation plan

KUALA LUMPUR: Awanbiru Technology Bhd (Awantec) has assured its shareholders, stakeholders, and the public that it is working towards remaining listed, with an appeal to Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd (Bursa Securities) on the company’s regularisation plan.

In a statement today, the technology company said it had consistently maintained transparency in its disclosures and continues to uphold principles of good corporate governance as evidenced by being a member of the FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia Index since 2014.

“Our commitment to ethical and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) practices ensure that shareholders’ interests remain at the forefront of our decision-making processes. We will keep all shareholders, stakeholders, and the public updated on any development on this matter,” it added.

On Wednesday, Awantec’s application for an extension of time to submit a regularisation plan to Bursa Securities was rejected via the exchange’s letter dated Aug 16, 2023.

The company was also issued a show cause notice to provide written representations within five market days from the date of the letter as to why a suspension should not be imposed on the trading of the securities of the company; and why the securities of the company should not be de-listed from the Official List of Bursa Securities.

“This application for the extension of time is in reference to our announcement on Jan 29, 2021, where the company is deemed an Affected Listed Issuer pursuant to Paragraph 8.03A 2(a)(aa) of Main Market Listing Requirements of Bursa Securities due to the non-renewal of our major software distribution business,” said Awantec.

The company said it was confident that its transformation journey into the cloud business, guided by the two pillars, such as the software and services and talent segments, will continue to drive business growth.

“We remain committed to our investment into the 3Ps – People, Partners, and Products and Services throughout our journey. These principles underpin our growth strategy and future success,” it added.

Meanwhile, short selling under the proprietary day trading (PDT) and intraday short selling (IDSS) for Awantec has been suspended for the rest of Thursday as the Last Done Price of the Approved Securities dropped more than 15 sen or 15 per cent from the reference price.

The short selling under the PDT and IDSS will only be activated on Friday, Aug 18, 2023 at 08:30 am.

As of 11.01 am, Awantec’s share price fell 50 per cent or 20 sen to 20 sen, with 45.58 million shares traded. – BK