ASPEN Group on Sunday (Feb 12) said its subsidiaries have received a writ of summons filed by the Penang Development Corporation (PDC), seeking a refund of RM15 million (S$4.6 million). 

 

The writ of summons, which was endorsed with a statement of claim, was filed in the High Court of Malaya in Penang regarding the construction of an ingress leading into various parcels of land in Batu Kawan. 

 

Aspen&rsquo s subsidiaries in question are Aspen Vision Land and Aspen Vision City. 

 

Along with the writ of summons, PDC is seeking a declaration that the obligation to construct the ingress &ldquo has been frustrated or impossible to perform&rdquo , along with the refund of RM15 million for the construction of the ingress within 14 days from the date of judgement.

 

Aspen said it denies that the construction has been frustrated or impossible to perform as alleged by PDC. 

 

The company said it is seeking legal advice on the merits of PDC&rsquo s claims. It also noted that the issues pertaining to the construction of the ingress are part of settlement negotiations with PDC. The company had announced the lawsuit about these disputes between these two Aspen subsidiaries and PDC on Oct 7. 

 

&ldquo The group will work closely with its solicitors to vigorously defend PDC&rsquo s claims while continuing to pursue a global settlement with PDC,&rdquo said Aspen. 

 

The company said the suit is not expected to have any material financial impact pending the outcome of the legal proceedings. It also said it will update shareholders on material developments in relation to the matter through filings to the bourse. 

ASPEN Glove, a subsidiary of mainboard-listed Aspen Group : 1F3 0%, has on Feb 1, 2023 received a letter from Gas Malaysia Energy and Services to terminate a gas supply agreement made between the companies and to claim for payments, according to a Sunday (Feb 5) bourse filing.

 

Aspen Glove denies the claim and the notice of termination and demand&rsquo s validity, and intends to contest them.

 

The notice of termination and demand, dated Jan 31, 2023, sought an aggregate sum of about RM306.4 million (S$95.2 million) &ndash RM838,756.77 for alleged outstanding payment, and about RM305.5 million for alleged payment for unused gas supply for the remaining contract period of the gas supply agreement. The agreement to be terminated was dated Jan 19, 2021.

 

According to the notice, the termination will take effect 14 days from the issue of the notice. Within this time, Aspen Glove is also required to make payment of the claim, it said, failing which Gas Malaysia Energy and Services will be entitled to take legal action against Aspen Glove without further reference, and claim all legal costs incurred against Aspen Glove.

 

Aspen Group said that the notice is &ldquo invalid and/or without basis&rdquo as there is no outstanding payment to Gas Malaysia Energy and Services as at the date of the notice. The gas company&rsquo s claim is &ldquo unreasonable, unlawful, excessive, an unjust enrichment and amounts to an exorbitant and unfair penalty&rdquo against Aspen Glove, it added.

 

The group said that Aspen Glove will contest the notice and claim and work with its solicitors on the next course of action. This will include assessing a counterclaim against Gas Malaysia Energy and Services for excess payment, loss of reputation, damages and loss suffered.

 

Aspen Group shares ended unchanged at S$0.041 on Friday, before the Sunday filing.

 

In a separate filing on Feb 2, Aspen Group provided an update on legal proceedings with JR Engineering and Medical Technologies.

 

Aspen Glove had on Nov 7, 2022 received a notice dated Nov 4, 2022 from the solicitors acting for JR Engineering and Medical Technologies claiming a sum of RM22.4 million. This was allegedly a balance sum paid by JR to Aspen Glove under an agreement for JR to purchase gloves from Aspen Glove.

 

JR would proceed to commence winding-up proceedings against Aspen Glove, if it failed to make payment within 21 days of the notice.

 

Aspen Group&rsquo s update said that it has successfully obtained an interim injunction restraining JR, amongst others, from filing or presenting any winding-up petition based on the notice pending the hearing and disposal of Aspen Glove&rsquo s originating summons against JR.

 

&ldquo The court has also ordered that the costs of (Aspen Glove&rsquo s) application for the interim injunction be borne and paid by JR to (Aspen Glove),&rdquo the update said.

 

SHARES of Malaysian property developer Aspen (Group) soared 55 per cent on Thursday (Dec 29) morning to reach a three-month high of S$0.053, before easing slightly to S$0.049 at 9.56 am.

 

Data from the Singapore Exchange portal showed more than 19 million shares changing hands in the morning.

 

This prompted Singapore Exchange Regulation to issue a query asking if the company was aware of any information not previously announced which may explain the surge, or any other explanations for the &ldquo unusual volume movements&rdquo in its shares.

 

The regulator also asked Aspen to confirm its compliance with listing rules and, in particular, mainboard rule 703 &ndash which mandates an issuer announce any information necessary to avoid establishing a false market in the issuer&rsquo s securities, or which would be likely to materially affect the price of its securities.

 

No married deals were recorded, according to ShareInvestor data.

 

The group&rsquo s last posted announcement was from its glove-making unit, Aspen Glove, which had entered into an agreement to sell its rights title and interest in a piece of leased land in Malaysia and the factory built upon it for RM200 million (S$61.2 million).

 

The announcement was reported on Dec 15.

 

The group&rsquo s core business is in property development in Malaysia &ndash building residential and mixed-use properties that target middle-income mass market purchasers.

 

Aspen said in response to the query mid afternoon that it was not aware of any information that might explain the unusual volume movements of its shares, and confirmed that it had complied with listing rules.