Following months of tension, Sam Goi Seng Hui took control of consumer staples company Hanwell Holdings on April 29. Goi, better known for heading foodstuffs manufacturer Tee Yih Jia, is the second largest Hanwell shareholder with a stake of 22.67%.

 

Hanwell&rsquo s long-time executive chairman, Allan Yap, was compelled to resign last September after he had been declared bankrupt in Hong Kong. The single largest shareholder, Violet Profit Holdings, which holds 24.23%, is in liquidation. For months, Yap&rsquo s recently divorced wife, Coco Tang Cheuk Chee, was the sole ED. She controls 19.4% of the shares.

 

Sensing a leadership void, Goi mounted a public relations campaign to get the word out that he is eager to take over as Hanwell&rsquo s executive chairman and draw a nominal annual fee of $1, so that he can bring his years of experience in this industry and his extensive business network to bear and grow Hanwell. Furthermore, control of Hanwell means control of another listed company, Tat Seng Packaging Group, as Hanwell holds 64% of the latter.

 

At the AGM on April 29, shareholders were overwhelming in their support for Goi, with 94.67% in favour of re-electing him. In contrast, Tang was voted out by 55.34% and Yeo See Liang, a newly-appointed ED, too, was voted out.

 

On May 5, two new IDs were appointed: former chairman of NTUC FairPrice Chandra Das, and former group CEO of the same entity, Tan Kian Chew.

 

BUSINESSMAN Sam Goi has, in the tussle for board control at consumer products supplier Hanwell Holdings, emerged a victor as two directors from the other camp were ousted at Thursday' s annual general meeting (AGM).

 

Both Tang Cheuk Chee and Yeo See Liang failed to be re-elected at the shareholders' meeting as each of them only had about 45 per cent of the votes in support of their return to the board. However, they will remain as executives of the mainboard-listed Hanwell.

 

Hanwell' s website showed Ms Tang' s first appointment as its director in 2011, and she was a member of the risk management committee before failing to be re-elected on Thursday. She is a substantial shareholder with a 19.4 per cent stake.

 

Mr Yeo was appointed director only in February, and he is Hanwell' s chief operating officer.

 

In contrast, shareholders voted in favour of Mr Goi' s re-election as non-executive chairman as he garnered over 94 per cent of the votes, and John Chen Seow Phun as independent director (non-executive deputy chairman).

 

Mr Goi has a 23 per cent stake in the manufacturer and distributor of a variety of well-known brands of consumer products, including Royal Umbrella rice, Beautex tissue paper and Fortune tofu.

 

He had offered to be executive chairman for a nominal fee of S$1 per annum following the resignation of Allan Yap in September last year, after the latter was disqualified to hold directorship as a bankrupt. Mr Goi' s offer was not accepted.

 

Mr Goi told The Business Times: " I firmly believe Hanwell has a strong set of brand assets and the potential to expand the scale of its business and to grow regionally. This change in leadership is an opportunity for Hanwell to reposition itself and reset its growth strategy."

 

Hanwell said it is working with e-commerce platforms, including Shopee, Lazada, Redmart, Amazon and Qoo10, in a reply ahead of the AGM to queries from shareholders about offering products in bundles via these avenues. The firm is also assessing the feasibility of having its own e-commerce platform.

The Edge Singapore  Published on Thu, Apr 29, 2021 / 11:42 AM GMT+8 / Updated 15 hours ago

Sam Goi Seng Hui has taken control of Hanwell Holdings after shareholders at this morning&rsquo s AGM re-elected him but turfed out two existing executive directors.

  Goi, recently appointed non-executive chairman of the company, received an overwhelming 94.67% of the votes in favour of his re-election. John Chen, the current non-executive deputy chairman, received 75.11% in favour of his re-appointment.

  In contrast, 55.34% voted against the re-appointment of executive director Coco Tang Cheuk Chee. Shareholders also did not re-elect Yeo See Liang, who was appointed as an executive director just barely two months ago, with 55.30% against.

  As such, both Tang and Yeo are no longer Hanwell directors but will remain as executives until the company decides otherwise.

  In a statement, Goi says he is grateful for this chance to help chart the future of the company, which distributes various consumer staples such as rice, tofu and other foodstuffs under household brands such as Royal Umbrella, Fortune and also tissue paper brand Beautex. 

 

  &ldquo I firmly believe Hanwell has a strong set of brand assets and the potential to expand the scale of its business and to grow regionally. This change in leadership is an opportunity for Hanwell to reposition itself and reset its growth strategy,&rdquo says Goi.

  &ldquo Where possible, I will offer the relevant knowledge, experience and network to help strengthen overall leadership and corporate governance in the company, which will ultimately benefit all shareholders,&rdquo he adds.

  In the lead up to the AGM, both Goi and Tang had been steadily increasing their stakes in the company. According to the latest filings, Goi owns 22.67% and Tang owns 19.4%, making him and her the second and third largest shareholder respectively.

  The single largest shareholder, Violet Profit Holdings, which holds  24.23%, is under liquidation and thus not entitled to vote.

  Goi, who holds stakes in many other listed companies, believes that that Hanwell was suffering from a leadership void under Tang and her recently divorced husband, Allan Yap. 

  Yap resigned as executive chairman last September after a Hong Kong court declared him bankrupt. Besides leaving Hanwell, Yap also quit as executive chairman of Tat Seng Packaging Group, a separately-listed company in which Hanwell holds 64%.

  After Yap left, Goi had sought the role of Hanwell&rsquo s executive chairman, offering to take a token remuneration of just $1 a year, but was rebuffed by the previous board. Goi is likely to bring onboard new directors with relevant experience.

  Tang' s ouster from Hanwell has yet to affect her position at Tat Seng. At the AGM held after Hanwell' s on April 29, Tang was re-elected as a director with an overwhelming 99.81% for.   

 

  Hanwell shares closed at 48 cents on April 29, unchanged from the preceding day.