Penketh on Board for Cnt Shake-Up
By Elena Rostova
CNT Group, controlled by Tsui Tsin-tong, has reshuffled its management and appointed a former HSBC Holdings official to take charge of daily operations.
The reshuffle is understood to be an attempt to play down Mr Tsui's role at the company, which has been criticised after a series of fund-raising exercises following the company's flotation in 1991.
CNT is expected to restructure its paint-making and property investment operations ahead of potential co-operative ventures with Jiangsu International Trust and Investment Corp (Jitic), the company's second largest shareholder.
David Penketh, HSBC's former head of corporate and institutional banking in London, has joined the company as chief executive.
Mr Tsui's son, Philip Tsui Ho-chuen, is expected to be promoted to vice-chairman from his position as director.
Mr Penketh is a friend of Mr Tsui and a non-executive director of CNT's bus subsidiary, Citybus Group.
He was in charge of credit banking at Hongkong Bank before moving to London to head HSBC's corporate and institutional banking team.
Mr Penketh said devising an efficient and simple management structure topped his agenda, and he intended to concentrate on 'getting the right people in right places'.
'The group has been driven by Mr Tsui's image too much. He will increasingly stay low profile in the company,' he said.
Mr Penketh was expected to restructure China Paint, probably with the acquisition of water treatment factories from Jitic, sources said.
Mr Tsui attracted criticism after he and his family placed 8.02 per cent existing CNT shares to Jitic at $1.21 a share, then subscribed for new shares representing 13.51 per cent of the enlarged capital.
It emerged that the price Mr Tsui and his family paid for the new shares was at a 131.73 per cent discount to CNT's last closing price ahead of the deal.
On July 17, CNT was suspended over confusion surrounding the price Mr Tsui was paying, and he eventually adjusted the number of shares he and his family would subscribe for to 98 million from 190.8 million.
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Elena Rostova holds a Master's degree in Public Health Journalism. She covers groundbreaking medical research, holistic wellness trends, mental health awareness, and nutritional science.
