MAINBOARD-LISTED New Silkroutes Group said on Monday (Dec 13) that it was served a letter of statutory demand from its landlord Fragrance Regal for an alleged total sum of around S$146,234.73 after it failed to respond to an earlier letter of demand.

 

The sum demanded is in relation to the tenancy agreement between Fragrance Regal and the company in respect of the premises at Fragrance Empire Building located at 456 Alexandra Road.

 

Due to work from home arrangements in compliance with Covid-19 regulations, New Silkroutes said that the letter of demand for an alleged sum of S$98,652.69 to be paid by Nov 18 was only retrieved from the company' s mailbox on Dec 13.

 

The landlord had therefore alleged that there has been an event of default based on a clause in the tenancy agreement and had issued the statutory demand with the sum due on 12pm, Dec 17.

 

" The company has engaged the leasing and finance department of the landlord since September 2021, but the landlord has not responded to multiple requests from the company for a meeting," said New Silkroutes.

 

The company is currently reviewing the letter of demand and statutory demand with its legal and financial advisers and will take appropriate action accordingly.

 

The board will keep shareholders updated as and when there are any material developments in relation to the above, said the company.

MAINBOARD-LISTED New Silkroutes Group has received a letter of demand for an alleged sum of US$10.7 million from a company, Iolani Shipping, it disclosed in a Tuesday bourse filing.

 

New Silkroutes is a corporate guarantor for a lease-financing arrangement of a bare boat charter, entered into by its subsidiary TXZ Tankers. It is currently reviewing the letter of demand with its legal advisors.

 

The company was recently under regulatory scrutiny. In January, Singapore Exchange (SGX) raised queries regarding New Silkroutes' wholly-owned oil-trading subsidiary, International Energy Group, which it had not been successful in winding up.

 

NEW Silkroutes Group has inked an agreement with Huawei International to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) platform that can be used in genomics-driven healthcare, the mainboard-listed investment holding company said on Monday.

 

Under a memorandum of understanding, New Silkroutes and Huawei will extensively explore a collaboration to use AI to establish " breakthrough analyses" of genomic data and develop predictive models for diagnoses, therapeutics and prognoses in oncology and genomics, New Silkroutes said in an exchange filing.

 

Huawei International is the overseas arm of Huawei serving customers in Singapore. Its Shenzhen-based parent is a leading global provider of information and communications technology infrastructure and smart devices, New Silkroutes said.

 

VicPearly Wong, chief executive of New Silkroutes, said: " The new strategic growth of New Silkroutes is towards AI-driven solutions and digital transformation in the healthcare sector. We are excited to collaborate with Huawei, a global technology leader, to develop valuable and innovative breakthroughs in genomics-driven healthcare."

 

Genomic medicine involves the study of patients' DNA, which can lead to improved clinical care and personalised treatment.

 

Using big data, AI can speed up the analysis of vast amounts of genomic sequence data so that doctors and patients can identify and manage conditions at the earliest possible stages, the company said.

 

The MOU does not involve any commitment of funding, and both parties will sign a binding agreement should they decide to take the collaboration to the next level, the company said.

 

Dr Wong was appointed executive director in November 2020, after the company announced the previous month that non-independent, non-executive chairman Goh Jin Hian had resigned. Dr Goh, the medically-trained son of former Singapore prime minister Goh Chok Tong, was the company' s CEO until Oct 1.

 

Since taking the helm, Dr Wong has worked with its board of directors to order a strategic review of the group' s International Energy Group and to commence a voluntary creditors' winding up of the subsidiary, the company said.

 

New Silkroutes has also appointed KPMG Services to conduct an independent review into two earlier management agreements entered into by its China subsidiary, Shanghai Fengwei Garment Accessory, as well as into the valuation of a 4.5 per cent stake in Thai General Nice Coal and Coke, it added.

 

" I am pleased to say that we are nearing the end of removing loss-making legacy businesses and restructuring NSG so that we can build a strong momentum to pivot fully into healthcare," Dr Wong said.