MOL Global’s Nasdaq journey ends

This 2012 file photo shows MOL's office at Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian e-payment platforms operator MOL Global Inc’s bumpy Nasdaq journey has come to an end after less than two years, with it allowing its American depositary shares (ADSs) to be delisted from the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

In a press statement on Wednesday, MOL said that it had received a non-compliance letter from Nasdaq on Oct 5, 2015, notifying that it no longer met the minimum bid price of US$1.00 per ADS required for continued listing on the exchange.  

MOL, in which Tan Sri Vincent Tan and his entities/affiliates hold a majority stake, received another letter from Nasdaq dated April 7, 2016 after the first compliance period lapsed, giving it additional time to consider applying (before April 14, 2016) for a second period to regain compliance.

“The company, having considered all available options, decided that it will not submit such a plan and will instead allow the ADSs to be delisted from Nasdaq and seek to deregister its ADSs under the Exchange Act,” it said.

As a result, trading of its ADSs will be suspended from next Monday (April 18).

“The decision to allow the ADSs to be delisted from Nasdaq and to seek deregistration under the Exchange Act was taken following the company’s review and careful consideration of several factors,” it said.

These factors, MOL said, included “the non-compliance letters received from Nasdaq for the continued listing requirements, the ongoing listing, legal, administrative and additional accounting costs, the inordinate amount of executive time and company resources consumed in regulatory compliance obligations which the company considered would be better spent developing the business to drive better financial results and the lack of investor interest as shown in the low daily trading volumes of the ADSs on Nasdaq.”

The Kuala Lumpur-headquartered company was listed on Nasdaq on Oct 9, 2014.