Mr. Wu Yongqiang (&ldquo Mr. Wu&rdquo ) has been appointed as a Non-Executive Non-Independent Director of the Company with effect from 14 December 2021. Mr. Wu is also appointed as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board, and a member of the Audit Committee, Remuneration Committee, Nominating Committee and Performance Share Scheme Committee. Mr. Wu shall be considered non-independent for purpose of Rule 704(8) of the Listing Manual of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited.

 

Wu Yongqiang has deemed interest in KTL with 40,250,000 share or 12.75%

 

 

  KTL stated that it expects cash flow generated by the diamond business to improve the group' s current working capital.

 

  Watch-listed KTL Global on Friday (Sept 24) said it expects the ongoing independent review of the company to take between three and five months, as it appointed its independent reviewer Deloitte & Touche Advisory Services only on Aug 14 this year.

 

This was in response to several queries it received from the Securities Investors Association (Singapore) regarding the group' s FY2020 annual report.

 

The mainboard-listed group' s shares have been under voluntary suspension since Aug 17, and it does not intend to resume trading until the review is complete.

 

To recap, KTL' s independent auditors in August this year issued a disclaimer of opinion in relation to the transactions of its subsidiary Bluegas with four branding, operation and procurement (BOP) customers in China.

 

Among other findings, the auditors highlighted irregularities in the accounting treatment of receipts by Bluegas from Lawrence Group amounting to US$700,000 (S$944,000).

 

In its response to Sias' queries, KTL said it has ceased and not taken any business through Bluegas since the group' s BOP business was suspended from January this year due to Covid-19 and disruptions in China.

 

The group' s board and management remain in possession of Bluegas' s company seals and all its legal documents.

 

Asked about the nature of BOP services provided by Bluegas and the level of oversight by the board, KTL described the company as an " asset-light" type of business with no capital expenditure, inventory or other assets considered to be " heavy" . Bluegas' s former chief executive Liu Changsheng provided quarterly updates of the company' s business to KTL' s board, which communicated with the management of Bluegas on an ad-hoc basis through e-mails and telephone conferences.

 

KTL said that since Mr Liu resigned effective July 31 this year, there has been no employment relationship between him and the group - although Mr Liu has expressed willingness to extend assistance to the group regarding matters relating to Bluegas, if required.

 

As previously stated in a June 9, 2021 response to queries from the Singapore Exchange, the group reiterated that its board has assessed there is an " urgent need to raise funds and look for opportunities to inject new revenue-generating businesses into the group" .

 

It also said it has taken actions to operate as a going concern and meet its short-term obligations. This includes the recent incorporation of a new subsidiary in the business of other investment holdings and value-added logistics providers a loan convertible agreement with a loan facility of up to S$2 million plans to acquire a fresh vegetable and fruit producer and exporter and a proposed placement to raise up to $3.1 million from investors.

 

When queried by Sias on the due diligence carried out by KTL' s management in light of several agreements signed over the past three months with various partners in different areas, the group said it intends to acquire experienced staff to manage its fresh vegetable and fruit business.

 

" The various agreements and memoranda of understanding entered into by the company are all related to the sale and distribution of fresh produce and are intended to capitalise the company' s partners' strengths to further grow and develop the businesses," added KTL.

 

The group said it expects the food produce chain and logistics business - a new key business area - to become its main source of business headed by its chief executive.

 

Said KTL: " An advisor with vast experience, expertise and business connections in the food industry, both in Singapore and China, was appointed to bring to the company a host of business opportunities and connections hence supporting the growth of the company as a whole&hellip The new businesses are expected to help the group to capitalise growth opportunities and in turn bring longer-term value and returns to the shareholders."

 

In August this year, KTL announced it was looking to enter the lab-grown diamond business, and has separately inked a deal to import fish and seafood into Singapore.

 

KTL stated that it expects cash flow generated by the diamond business to improve the group' s current working capital.

 

· The Taiwanese partners comprised a Taiwan farming co-operative (中 华 民 国 农 会 ) and an established Taiwanese logistics company (金 豪 船 舶 股 份 有 限 公 司 )

 

· The strategic collaboration is for a period of two years and it aligns with the Group&rsquo s consumer-centric business model targeted at the fresh produce and consumer markets

 

KTL Global Limited (&ldquo KTL&rdquo or the &ldquo Company&rdquo , and together with its subsidiaries, the &ldquo Group&rdquo ), is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Tianci Agritech Pte Ltd (&ldquo Tianci Agritech&rdquo ), has entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with Taiwanese partners to establish a food supply logistic chain network in Southeast Asia.

 

Together with the Taiwanese partners, the Group will be involved in the procurement, logistics supply chain and distribution of fresh produce and consumer products, primarily from Taiwan, across Southeast Asia.

 

Agriculture is one of the main industries in Taiwan and around 24% of the country' s land is used for farming. Notably, Taiwan is a significant producer of fresh tropical fruits that includes mangoes, pineapples, bananas, guavas, lychee, among others. Taiwan&rsquo s food processing industry produced an estimated US$22.1 billion of processed food and beverages in 2020, which increased 3.4% as compared with 2019.

 

Singapore is a small city-state with limited resources, with only 1% of land available for food production, and over 90% of food is imported from an increasingly disrupted world. To ensure food security, the Singapore Food Agency adopts the strategy of &ldquo three food baskets&rdquo , the foremost being the diversification of food sources.

 

Since identifying the business opportunities that are driven by the rising food demand and consumption trends in Singapore, the Group has made major strides in its business model to create new value propositions in this market segment.

 

Mr Chin Teck Oon, Executive Director of KTL, said: &ldquo With air travel curtailed, we will work closely with our Taiwanese partners to bring in Taiwanese food products that are popular among consumers in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

 

Aligned with Singapore&rsquo s strategy to diversify our food sources, we aim to further expand our product portfolio and strengthen our supply chain capabilities to better serve our customers in Singapore and expand our business presence across the regional markets as well.&rdquo

Singapore, 10 September 2021 &ndash KTL Global Limited (&ldquo KTL&rdquo or the &ldquo Company&rdquo , and together with its subsidiaries, the &ldquo Group&rdquo ), is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Tianci Agritech Pte Ltd (&ldquo Tianci Agritech&rdquo ) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (&ldquo MOU&rdquo ) with Marine Alliance Services Pte. Ltd. (&ldquo Marine Alliance Services&rdquo ) on the following key areas:

 

1. Tianci Agritech to provide and supply F& B catering services and daily necessities for shipping vessels served by Marine Alliance Services

2. Tianci Agritech to provide integrated services and solutions (such as food sourcing and supplies, warehousing, inventory management, logistics supply chain management and customers service) to Marine Alliance Services&rsquo business-to-consumer (&ldquo B2C&rdquo ) e-commerce platform

 

The core business activities of Marine Alliance Services are supplying daily necessities and provisions for shipping vessels as well as operating a B2C e-commerce platform in Singapore.

 

In today&rsquo s interconnected world of commerce, more than 90% of the world&rsquo s trade is carried by sea. Singapore&rsquo s maritime ecosystem comprises over 5,000 establishments employing more than 170,000 people, and contributing about 7% to the country&rsquo s gross domestic product. At any one time, there are about 1,000 vessels in the Singapore port and annually, more than 130,000 ships call at Singapore(1).

 

In January 2021, internet penetration in Singapore stood at 90.0% with 5.29 million internet users in Singapore(2). Accordingly to a recent report by Facebook and management consultancy Bain & Company, e-commerce sales in Singapore are expected to grow to US$10 billion by the end of 2026. Notably, fresh groceries were purchased online by 59 per cent of respondents for the first time in the past three months(3).

 

Since identifying the business opportunities that are driven by the rising food demand and consumption trends in Singapore, the Group has made major strides in its business model to create new value propositions in this market segment.