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SINGAPORE (June 4): Jeff Cheong Weixiong, chairman of investment company CWX Global, has made another round of monthly purchases of the company’s stock on the open market.

Cheong is the new man at the helm of the company formerly known as Loyz Energy, which used to be controlled by the Lee family that made waves in the offshore and marine industry via companies such as Ezra Holdings.

According to a filing with the Singapore Exchange after market close on May 28, Cheong bought just over 7.1 million shares at 0.7 cent each that day. This raised his total stake in the company from 6.55% to 6.74%, or just over 262.7 million shares.

Prior to this, Cheong’s most recent purchase was made on April 3. He bought about 6.6 million shares, also at 0.7 cent each. That had brought his stake from 6.39% to 6.55%. On March 6, he bought five million shares for 0.8 cent each, and on Feb 9, he purchased 10 million shares at the same price.

The prices Cheong paid for the CWX Global shares are at a substantial discount to the company’s net asset value per share, which stood at 1.65 US cents as at March 31.

Last year, CWX Global raised net proceeds of nearly $17 million by issuing new shares via a one-for-one rights issue at 0.9 cent each. It is raising funds for expansion beyond its original oil production business into areas such as asset management and investments.

The rights issue, completed last December, doubled its share base from 1.95 billion to 3.9 billion. Not all of CWX Global shareholders took up their full entitlement. However, several other existing shareholders, including Cheong, mopped up the excess rights shares and emerged as substantial shareholders of the company.

On Dec 21, the company announced that the new substantial shareholders included Koh Wee Seng, who raised his stake from 22 million shares to 377.3 million shares. With this investment, Koh, who is CEO of property and jewellery retailer Aspial Corp, holds a 9.68% stake in CWX Global.

Loh Chui Heng, former executive director of Zhongmin Baihui Retail Group, used to own just 100,000 shares. He increased that to 333.5 million shares, giving him a stake of 8.55%. Loh is also managing director of Hong Hock Hardware.

Other substantial shareholders include Bobby Lim Chye Huat, non-executive, non-independent director of Tai Sin Electric; Wong Yat Foo, founder and chairman of private equity firm ESW Manage; and former stock dealer-turned-investor Steven Lim Tiong Kheng. They took up 111.1 million excess rights shares each. Jeffrey Pang Kee Chai, CEO of CWX Global, took part in the rights issue as well. From 12.7 million shares, he now holds 24.6 million shares, or 0.63% of the company.

As for Jit Sun Investments, the vehicle used by the Lee family to hold shares in CWX Global, its stake in the company following the rights issue halved from 7.76% to 3.88%, as it did not subscribe to the rights issue.

Ahead of any significant moves in its business, the bulk of CWX Global’s earnings now comes from oil production. It owns a 20% stake in the Phetchabun Basin, about 300km from Bangkok. On May 11, the company reported earnings of US$30,000 ($40,237) for the third quarter ended March 31, 2018, an improvement from a loss of US$200,000 for the year-earlier quarter. Revenue in the same period, however, was down 26% y-o-y to US$1.79 million because of lower production.

With oil prices continuing a steady, albeit slow, climb, the company has expressed greater optimism. On April 19, it announced that a new drilling campaign was starting in May. “The new drilling campaign is timely, as oil prices are trending upwards with improving supply and demand fundamentals, while drilling costs remain relatively low,” the company states.

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