EP Manufacturing kickstarts new business agenda with the appointment of new directors
The Group has also set up a satellite office in China to seek collaboration opportunities with Tier 1 suppliers
EP Manufacturing Berhad (EPMB or the Group), a Bursa Malaysia Main Market listed company mainly involved in automotive and engineering, has announced the appointment of two new directors to its board as it seeks to undertake a new business agenda to turnaround the prospects of the company.
On the new appointments, EPMB Executive Chairman Mr. Hamidon Bin Abdullah said: “Despite the unprecedented challenges brought upon by the global pandemic, the Group is unwavering in its confidence that the current business will remain resilient for the long term. However, we have kept a keen eye for the future opportunities post-pandemic and decided that now is the right time to capture innovation opportunities beyond the traditional automotive value chain.”
“The Group’s vision for the near future is to seek better levels of efficiency and profitability by keeping up with technology-driven trends. New opportunities in the automotive industry are on the cards as EPMB already has the necessary building blocks and infrastructures. We are excited to embark on this new growth phase with the appointment of directors who bring with them a wide range of experience, network and accomplishments,” he added.
The two new directors are Independent Non-Executive Director Mr. Derek Cheng Sheng and Executive Director Mr. Mac Ho Kok Wei.
New Independent Non-Executive Director Mr. Derek Cheng Sheng, who has over 20 years of experience in financial services, investment and corporate management, is currently a Senior Adviser to Blackstone Group (HK) Limited.
Prior to Blackstone, Mr. Cheng served as the member of Management Committee and Assistant Chief Executive Officer of China Resources Capital Holdings Co., Ltd, the financial services unit of China Resources Group, a trillion-HK dollar conglomerate fully owned by the central government of the People’s Republic of China.
Some of Mr. Cheng’s key accomplishments include fine-tuning and evolving the business strategy to the rapidly-changing China investment environment, leveraging profound industry knowledge and extensive business network to define key investment areas, leading the M&A investment executions in diversified industries, as well as raising multi-billion-dollar investment funds focusing on Asia Pacific, among others.
Meanwhile, Executive Director Mr. Mac Ho Kok Wei has held the position of Managing Director of ASEAN for HKFAEx Group Limited since 2020 where he is mainly responsible for expanding the company to Southeast Asia, and CEO of SSH Capital Holdings Sdn Bhd where he is in charge of business development, investments and corporate exercises. For most of his career before that, Mr. Ho was primarily involved in property development and investment.
In addition, EPMB stated separately that it has set up a satellite office in China to help source and identify opportunities for collaboration with Tier 1 suppliers in China. To spearhead this, the Group has appointed Director and Country Head for China Mr. Marcus Goh Kee Lun.
“Mr. Goh, a Malaysian who has been in China for over a decade, will help to invoke our presence in China and expand our business connections. His matured network and credibility overseas combined with an innate understanding of our own interests will enable EPMB to negotiate potential deals and collaborations with new partners there,” commented Hamidon.
Newly-appointed Director and Country Head for China Mr. Marcus Goh Kee Lun holds the position of Chief Executive Officer in HKICEx Limited, Managing Director China of HKFAEx Group Limited as well as Fund Manager cum Partner in CIS Pride Fund, all of which primarily deal with financial assets management. In Malaysia, Mr. Goh is also the Director of SSH Capital Sdn Bhd which is a property investment company.
He is active in financial assets exchange in both business development and strategic planning for China and Southeast Asia due to his experience working in various countries and dealing in the financial markets. Previously, he also has almost eight years of experience in the Big 4 accounting firms in Malaysia and China, participating in large China state-owned enterprise IPO projects such as China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and China Railway Construction Company (CRCC).
