Financial Times

Bukit Darah clarifies share price moves, Malaysian estate sale
The Bukit Darah Company Ltd., whose share price shot up to phenomenal highs in recent weeks owing to speculation, told shareholders last week that its auditors had valued the firm's share at Rs 8,229 before the 24 for one bonus issue.

Issuing a statement on what it called the "unusual nature" of recent share transactions, the company said the reason for the price volatility appeared to be rumours about the sale of Bukit Darah Estate in Malaysia.

The sale of the estate had been finalized at Malaysian ringgit 137,500 per acre and the gross sale proceeds will amount to about US$ 36 million (at a conversion rate of 3.8 ringgit per US dollar), the company said.

The company's auditors have advised the Board of Directors that a fair value of the share in the company based on the issued and paid up capital of 400,000 Ordinary Shares of Rs. 10 each prior to the issue of the bonus shares would be Rs.8,229 per share.

This was taking into account the Balance Sheet as at December 31 2003 and the impending sale of the property in Malaysia. Directors of Bukit Darah, which is part of the Carsons group, decided on February 25 to issue bonus shares in the ratio of 24 shares for every one share by capitalizing part of the amount lying to the credit of the Capital Accretion Reserve.

The decision to make the bonus issue was taken because the company had not paid dividends to ordinary shareholders in the last two years owing to investments in Indonesian oil palm plantations and to correct the disparity between the issued capital and the value of its assets, which made the share illiquid and highly priced.

Speculation about the estate sale and a possible bonus issue by Carsons saw the price of the illiquid share soaring to over Rs 35,000 per ten-rupee share in recent weeks although it had fallen to less than Rs 3,500 ex-bonus last week.

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