THE trustee of Sabana Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (Sabana Reit) said the requisitionists’ proposed candidates to be directors of the internal manager must first meet regulatory requirements.
The six candidates must also be approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to be appointed as directors, said HSBC Institutional Trust Services on Friday (Aug 23).
This came after five unitholders requisitioned the manager on Aug 12 to convene an extraordinary general meeting (EGM), where they put forward six individuals to be voted on.
They are consultant Lim Hock Chuan; corporate finance and investment professional Bhavik Umesh Doshi; and group chief financial officer and board member of investment company Volare Group Konrad Duttwiler.
The other three candidates are activist investor Quarz Capital’s founder Jan Frederic Moermann and director Havard Chi, as well as Saha Anshuman Manabendranath, who previously worked at IT consulting company Pan Asia Resources.
In the notice, Sabana Reit’s internalisation committee had urged the trust’s manager and trustee to hold the EGM as soon as possible, “given the simplicity” of the requisition.
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However, on Friday, the Reit trustee said the EGM cannot be convened as the proposed candidates have not been approved by MAS.
It also highlighted that the requisitionists have not begun the process of seeking approval from MAS.
Citing the Securities and Futures Act, the trustee added that the new internalised manager must not appoint a person as its chief executive or director unless it has obtained MAS approval.
Any proposed candidate must also meet the relevant regulatory criteria, such as being a competent and honest person, as well as having integrity.
As a result, the trustee has asked the requisitionists to amend their resolutions and to work with the candidates to prepare the necessary application to MAS for approval of their appointments.
“This will allow for the EGM to be convened as expeditiously as possible…We trust you will agree that this is a sensible and reasonable way forward taking into account the legal requirements,” said the trustee.
Units of Sabana Reit were trading flat at S$0.34 as at 9.12 am on Friday.
