PETALING JAYA: After plummeting as much as 87% since the start of the year, YNH Property Bhd has seen a tentative recovery in recent trading sessions.

The property developer linked to tycoon Yu Kuan Chon jumped as much as 20.28% or 14.5 sen to 86 sen in early trading today, building on a 9.2% or 10.5 sen rise last Friday.

At 3.49pm, it had paired its gains and was 12.59% or nine sen higher at 80 sen, valuing the group at RM423 million.

It was the third most actively traded counter on Bursa Malaysia with 156.5 million shares changing hands.

YNH was one of the most badly hit small-cap stocks in the market sell-off that started around the second week of January and was among the 10 stocks or so which made up the infamous “Limit Down Club”.

It hit a year high of RM4.35 on Jan 4 before tumbling 87.24% to a low of 55.5 sen on Jan 22, wiping RM1.88 billion off its market capitalisation in the process.

Since hitting the low of 55.5 sen last Monday, it has risen 44.14% to 80 sen. However, whether the nascent recovery can be sustained remains to be seen.

Returning to its lofty share price of RM4.35 just a few weeks ago seems like a bridge too far, at least in the short to medium term.

A medical doctor turned investor, Yu, 61, is the company’s single largest shareholder with a 32.58% stake.

He is also the executive chairman of YNH, a Perak-based family property business he joined in 1995 after serving as a government medical officer.

The low-profile businessman is listed in 39th position in Forbes’s 2023 Malaysia’s 50 Richest list with a net worth of US$430 million (RM2 billion).

JV and turnkey contracts

In October last year, YNH’s auditor Baker Tilly Monteiro Heng issued a qualified opinion on its financial statements for the 18 months ended June 30, 2023 with regard to its joint venture (JV) and turnkey contracts for property development works.

In a bourse filing last Friday, the group announced that no professional firm had been appointed for an independent review of its JV and turnkey construction agreements. Its filing was in response to a query by Bursa Malaysia Securities on Jan 24.

It also said it is actively identifying and inviting suitable candidates to fill the vacancy of the audit committee chairman (ACC).

It added the company will announce the new audit committee’s decision on whether a professional firm is required for the independent review.

In November last year, YNH announced that the three-member audit committee intended to appoint a professional firm for an independent review.

This came after the law firm appointed by the group found that the qualified amount of the inventories in respect of the JV and turnkey contracts was substantial at RM1.1 billion.