A NEW SUBSTANTIAL SHAREHOLDER has emerged at Singapore-listed coal-mining group Geo Energy Resources -- Heah Theare Haw.
The company announced this week (6 April) that Mr Heah had bought 8,005,900 shares from the open market at an average price of 19.3 cents on 1 April this year.
This lifted his stake from 4.89% to 5.58% (or 64,617,196 shares) which has a market value of about S$12.9 million currently.
His latest purchase was at, or near, all-time lows in Geo Energy's share price which has been trending down on weak financial performance.
Geo Energy has gone from a profit of US$13.0 million in FY2013 to a loss of US$12.8 million in FY2014, mainly due to operating losses (because of weak coal prices) and higher finance costs.
The company has a luminary on its board of directors -- billionaire Jim Rogers, who is a non-executive director.
Geo Energy, which listed in Oct 2012 at 32.5 cents, is trading at all-time lows.
Chart: Bloomberg.
Heah Theare Haw.So who is Mr Heah? A Google search shows that he is a substantial shareholder of Asti Holdings. His 6.34% stake is worth about S$2.4 million currently.
He is the No.2 shareholder in Asti after Michael Loh, the Chairman & CEO.
He owns, or used to own, stakes in companies such as London-listed Medilink Global and KL-listed NextNation Communication.
Mr Heah is a KL resident and a Malaysian citizen.
And unless it's a coincidence, there is someone with the same unusual name who is giving back to society.
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Mr Heah is deputy chairman of the board of governors of Han Chiang College in Penang.
It's not clear why he has accumulated a substantial amount of shares of Geo Energy, given that the company's outlook is not particularly bright.
The company, in its recent FY2014 results announcement, said: "The Indonesian coal mining industry continues to face pressure from an expansionary supply situation and weak demand, resulting in a general expectation of coal prices to remain relatively soft in the near future."
