Shares of Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) has been on a steady decline since the local bourse opened today, following a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday on the company’s inability to submit its regularisation plan as a Practice Note 17 (PN17) issuer.

As at 10.40am, its shares declined 31.81 percent to 7.5 sen with 843,900 shares traded.

In yesterday’s filing, the company stated its board believed the group would not be able to meet Bursa’s requirements to uplift the PN17 status after taking into consideration the losses incurred in the first two quarters of 2019, and constraints on its cash flow.

The group has not been able to find any potential investor to revive the group, mainly due to its huge liabilities.

“We are aware that Bursa Securities shall take any relevant action, including the suspension of trading on the listed securities of Utusan on the sixth market day after the date of notification of suspension and de-listing the company,” it said.

As of June 30, 2019, Utusan’s accumulated losses stood at RM261.61 million.

The oldest Malay daily was first listed on the Main Board of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange in 1994.

Utusan has been in the red since 2012, and in August last year, triggered the PN17 criteria after defaulting on its principal and profit payments to Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd and Maybank Islamic Bhd totalling RM1.18 million.

- Bernama