Shares in Daim-linked Avillion slide after MACC charge

• Over the past one year, Avillion has seen a 38.9% decline in its share price from nine sen on Jan 30, 2023. Its stock performance has been declining since hitting a peak of 78.5 sen in 2011, and sagged to its lowest point of three sen on March 19, 2020.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 30): Shares in integrated travel, hotel and property group Avillion Bhd fell as much as 8.3% or half a sen in the early morning trade session on Tuesday, after it caught the attention of investors on the back of the charging of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin in court on Monday. 

Avillion and 23 of its subsidiaries were listed among the 71 assets in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) charge sheet in its case against Daim.

At 9.43am on Tuesday, the counter was trading down half a sen at 5.5 sen, as 1.35 million shares changed hands thus far. Its market capitalisation stood at RM57.14 million.

Over the past one year, Avillion has seen a 38.9% decline in its share price from nine sen on Jan 30, 2023. Its stock performance has been declining since hitting a peak of 78.5 sen in 2011, and sagged to its lowest point of three sen on March 19, 2020.

Avillion, formerly known as Reliance Pacific Bhd, operates a chain of luxury properties across the country. Its wholly owned subsidiary Avillion Hotel Group manages a chain of beach resorts, hotels and spas in Malaysia, including the well-known Avillion Port Dickson, as well as Avillion Admiral Cove, Avillion Cameron Highlands, and Avillion Villa Cinta in Bali, Indonesia.

The company suffered losses between financial year 2016 (FY2016) and FY2023. For FY2023 ended March 31, the group recorded RM4.76 million in net loss. For the six-month period ended Sept 30, 2023 (1HFY2024), net loss widened to RM3 million, from a loss of RM2.37 million for the same period a year earlier.

The loss-making group’s largest shareholder is Daim’s son Datuk Md Wira Dani Abdul Daim, with a 21.82% stake via Ibu Kota Developments Sdn Bhd and Daza Holdings Sdn Bhd.

Wira Dani has been the group’s substantial shareholder since April 2016. Wira Dani and his mother Toh Puan Mahani Idris emerged as substantial shareholders of the group at the same time, but Mahani exited in 2020, after she transferred all her 247.3 million shares or 26.3% equity to a Maybank Trustees Bhd account.

According to the annual report for FY2023, no other substantial shareholders hold more than a 5% stake in Avillion. They include Magical Zone Sdn Bhd (4.26%), Landbelt Corp Sdn Bhd (3.79%), Yayasan Pok Rafeah (3.68%), Dream Cruiser Sdn Bhd (2.99%), Lee Ooi Kim (2.48%), Oasis Harvest Holdings Sdn Bhd (2.20%), and Gigantic Promotions Sdn Bhd (2.09%). 

Interestingly, the group's previous chief executive officer Pee See Hoe had just resigned on Jan 17 with immediate effect. He was appointed to the group back in 2022, after managing director See Ah Sing left the group.

Currently, Avillion is headed by Fong Wai Leong as the CEO and Tan Sri Dr Samsudin Hitam as chairman. Notably, Samsudin was a career civil servant and was appointed as the secretary general of the Ministry of Finance when Daim was the finance minister, following the sacking of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Samsudin retired from public service in 2004. 

Other members of the board of directors include Stephen Geh Sim Whye, Rungit Singh Jaswant Singh, Taufiq Abdul Khalid, and Datin Norizan Idris. 

On Monday, Daim pleaded not guilty before judge Azura Alwi to one charge under Section 36(2) of the MACC Act 2009, concerning an offence pertaining to disclosure of assets. 

He was charged with not declaring one Amanah Saham bank account, seven vehicles including a Rolls-Royce, an Austin Morris Austin and a Jaguar XJS HE, 38 companies and 25 properties, some of which are linked to the companies he owns.

Among the companies mentioned were Ibu Kota Developments Sdn Bhd, Maya Seni Holdings Sdn Bhd, Menara Ampang Sdn Bhd, Dream Cruiser Sdn Bhd, Landbelt Corporation Sdn Bhd, Avillion Bhd, Avillion Hotel Group, Admiral Cove Development Sdn Bhd and Avillion Hotels International Sdn Bhd, to name a few.

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