KUALA LUMPUR — Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad has publicly reprimanded Meridian Berhad and its executive director, Tang Boon Koon, for breaches of the Main Market Listing Requirements involving delays in issuing the company’s annual reports.
Tang was also fined RM8,500 for permitting the listed company to commit the breaches, Bursa Malaysia Securities said in a statement today.
Meridian was found to have breached Paragraph 9.23(1) of the Main Market Listing Requirements after failing to issue its annual reports, including the audited financial statements, auditors’ reports and directors’ reports, within the stipulated deadlines for the financial periods ended Nov 30, 2023, and May 31, 2025.
The annual report for the 17-month financial period ended Nov 30, 2023, was issued on April 5, 2024, five market days after the March 31, 2024 deadline, while the annual report for the 18-month financial period ended May 31, 2025, was issued on Oct 8, 2025, six market days after the Sept 30, 2025 deadline.
In addition to the public reprimand, Bursa Malaysia Securities directed Meridian to ensure Tang and relevant personnel attend training on compliance with the Main Market Listing Requirements, particularly on financial statements.
The company’s board of directors was also instructed to review and assess the adequacy and competency of Meridian’s finance and accounting resources, as well as the adequacy, implementation and effectiveness of its financial reporting policies and procedures.
Bursa Malaysia Securities said the sanctions were imposed under Paragraph 16.19 of the Main Market Listing Requirements after taking into account the materiality of the breaches, their impact on the company and investors, and Tang’s role and responsibilities.
It said timely submission of financial statements is a fundamental obligation of listed companies and is essential to ensuring an orderly and fair securities market, while enabling investors to make informed investment decisions.
According to Bursa Malaysia Securities, Meridian’s delays were mainly due to its failure to maintain and provide the necessary information, documents and accounting records to external auditors, resulting in unresolved audit issues and disclaimer opinions on the audited financial statements for both financial periods.
The disclaimer opinions triggered the criteria under Practice Note 17 (PN17), leading to Meridian being classified as a PN17 issuer on April 8, 2024. Although the delays in issuing the annual reports were only five and six market days, respectively, investors were deprived of the company’s audited financial information for more than 17 months and 18 months.
Bursa Malaysia Securities said Tang, who was the sole executive director at the material time and responsible for the group’s operations, resources and finance management, failed to ensure proper and complete information and audit evidence were provided to external auditors to facilitate the timely completion of the audits.
