AFTER the announcement of Datuk Voon Tin Yow’s resignation from S P Setia Bhd as its acting president and chief executive officer ahead of the expiry of his contract to pursue his own interest next year, the top management at the property heavyweight is almost left in a clean slate.
It is understood that only a few S P Setia lieutenants are staying back in the company to ensure a smooth transition for the entry of a new team at the top level.
Although the company has announced that Datuk Khor Chap Jen will be replacing Voon, the former’s stint as acting president and chief executive officer is not expected to last more than a year.
Khor has been with S P Setia for close to 19 years while his deputy, Datuk Wong Tuck Wai, has also been with the company for a long period of time.
A source tells StarBizWeek that once Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) has firmed up on the candidate for the permanent role to helm the property firm, Khor and Wong may leave the company too.
The market talk is that PNB will pick Island & Peninsular Group Sdn Bhd (I&P) chief executive officer Datuk Jamaludin Osman (pic below) or one of PNB’s senior executives as the developer’s head honcho.
A person with knowledge of the matter says the selection process for the new chieftain has not been an easy one as the person has big shoes to fill.
“No potential candidate has the confidence to meet the key performance indicators that are set. It is not an easy feat to achieve RM8bil sales per annum,” he says.
Industry observers opine that S P Setia has to strategise to maintain its position.
“If you look at the sales that S P Setia has achieved for the last quarter, about 50% is contributed by the Battersea Power Station project. Stripping that off, the numbers are not spectacular,” one of them points out.
Of the RM1.42bil sales it raked in for its third quarter ended July 31, sales from the UK-based development contributed RM735mil.
The man who is instrumental in the realising the re-development of Battersea Power Station as well as building S P Setia into a reputable developer, Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin, will be the chairman of Battersea Project Holding Company Ltd (BPHCL) until September next year.
Liew told reporters that his tenure as BPHCL’s chairman beyond that, will be “up to the shareholders”.
Besides being the chairman for BPHCL, Liew has joined his son in another property company - Eco World Development Bhd, which is established by his comrades who were previously from S P Setia.
Liew has emphasised that his role in Eco World as a director was to advise the team and he was “taking a back seat” there.
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In fact, the exodus of talents from S P Setia to Eco World has started since the set-up of the latter.
For a company that has entered the market for about a year and half, Eco World is gaining traction quickly.
RHB Research says in a recent report: “Although the momentum for sales and launches was partly dampened by the cooling measures, we believe the slower growth also reflects the lack of solid leadership, management’s strength and staff’s spirit subsequent to Liew’s departure in April.”
Says one industry observer: “The sentiment is that S P Setia has lost its direction (in the local property market). As long as it sets its direction right, it should be able to continue growing well in the future.”
The idea for PNB to merge S P Setia, Sime Darby Property and I&P into a property giant that has a global competitive edge is one that will transform S P Setia into a different animal.
When that materialises, the enlarged entity will be competing at a different level.
An analyst says: “It makes sense for PNB to inject its other assets (from I&P) to a listed company considering the market is uncertain now. This will reduce PNB’s risk for holding the assets privately.”
She also opines that the changes at the leadership level are expected and there is no reason for the stock to be sold down based on that.
The stock fell five sen or 1.51% to RM3.26 a day after the announcement of Voon’s departure from S P Setia next year.
RHB Research notes: “We still believe that a merger and acquisition/ restructuring plan will be initiated by PNB over the next six to nine months in order to re-strategise S P Setia’s market position, given the exodus of senior management and staff.”
Herein lies the question of how the consolidation will be executed and how the new captain at helm of the merged company is able to deliver value to its shareholders. - The Star
