Disrupted

THE SHAREHOLDER squabble in seafood supplier Alliance Select Foods International Inc. has continued to escalate and the uncertainty has weighed down its share price.

Alliance was unable to conduct its stockholders’ meeting on Wednesday after the Court of Appeals issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) calling for a status quo to “preserve and protect the rights of the litigants.” The order was issued by the appellate court pending the resolution of the case whereby the Singaporean shareholders questioned the dismissal by a lower court of their complaint against Alliance’s capital-building program.

The Singaporean group had sought the TRO, claiming that the controlling shareholders would only “thwart the exercise of their voting rights and to change the voting representation of the shareholders” at the scheduled Dec. 16 meeting without allowing them to exercise their right to vote based on their shareholdings before a recent P1-billion stock rights offering and the increased authorized capital stock.

They said they would suffer “grave and irreparable” injury if the stockholders meeting were to push through.

The Singaporean investors had been complaining about how Alliance was being run and likewise protested the entry of new investors and the stock rights offering which diluted their interest in the company.

For its part, Alliance said this foreign shareholder group led by Hedy Yap-Chua seemed bent on continuing efforts to “disrupt” company operations.

“The P1-billion cash (from the capital-raising) is earmarked for working capital requirements, debt servicing and capital expenditures aimed to boost shareholder value. The Hedy-led bloc did not participate, thus allowing themselves to be diluted,” Alliance claimed. “Their actions have caused delays especially toward the new management’s turnaround efforts. Their acts run counter to their claims of a supposed desire to improve the company’s governance, efficiencies and profitability.” Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

Rising demand

IT HAS not been one of the better years of Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. given the lingering concerns over alleged sudden unintended acceleration hounding the fast-selling Montero model. Mitsubishi, however, can draw some Christmas joy from the fact that reservations for the all-new 2016 Montero Sport have remained strong, indicating that buyers are willing to look beyond the controversy.

Mitsubishi first vice president Froilan Dytianquin said everything about the 2016 Montero Sport is new, from the exterior and interior design to the dashboard and instrumentation. He said that MMPC dealers had pre-booked more than 900 units of the all-new model and are ready to be delivered. The official introduction will be made next month.

“We are pleased with the current reservation trend and expect it to keep growing after the formal launch. The previous model of the Montero Sport was the market leader in the mid-size SUV segment from 2009 to 2013,” he said. The new model has four variants with prices ranging from P1.5 million to P1.9 million. In Thailand, this all new Montero Sport has sold more than 8,500 units since it started to deliver last October.

The all-new Montero is on display at all Mitsubishi Motors Philippines dealer outlets nationwide and will also be displayed in various malls starting this month. Tina Arceo-Dumlao

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