UTUSAN Melayu (Malaysia) Bhd today said it will not make an appeal against the delisting of its securities from the local bourse.

The announcement came after the August 27 deadline given by Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd for the publisher of the country’s oldest Malay daily to appeal, paving the way for its delisting tomorrow.

“The board of directors of Utusan wishes to announce that the company has not made an appeal against the delisting of Utusan’s securities and pursuant thereto the securities will be delisted on August 30,” it said in a regulatory filing.

Trading of its shares (code: 5754) was suspended yesterday, with the last traded price of 5.5 sen.

The company was first listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange in 1994.

Utusan Melayu, in the red since 2012, triggered the Practice Note 17 (PN17) criteria in August last year after defaulting on its principal and profit payments to Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd and Maybank Islamic Bhd totalling RM1.18 million. 

Its board said the group would not be able to meet Bursa’s requirements to uplift the PN17 status after taking into consideration of the losses incurred in the first two quarters of 2019 and constraints on its cash flow.

The group has also been unable to find any potential investors to revive the group, mainly due to its huge liabilities. – Bernama, August 29, 2019.