NutryFarm shareholders demand CEO Niu Liming suspended immediately, CFO to take over

Shareholders in NutryFarm International are turning up the heat on CEO Niu Liming.

The company said in an Oct 12 filing it received an urgent demand notice from shareholders acting for the group pushing for a special general meeting. They want Niu suspended immediately as CEO and executive director, and the current CFO appointed to lead on an interim basis.

NutryFarm did not name the CFO in its notice. Exchange filings list Derek Ong Chee Beng, 60, as group financial controller since June 8. The company said it is reviewing the notice and seeking legal advice. It did not detail the grounds for suspension or announce any management changes.

What came before

The Oct 12 demand follows a trail of letters about Niu's role and his right to vote on behalf of a major shareholder. On Oct 9, shareholders claiming at least 10% of paid-up capital asked for a special general meeting to remove Niu from the board and all group roles. They also wanted shareholder Charlie In elected as a director and considered as CEO. Another Oct 9 letter demanded Niu's immediate removal from executive roles and recusal from board votes.

The ownership tangle

On Oct 11, NutryFarm received an objection to proxy voting rights granted by shareholder Jia Lijie, including conflict-of-interest concerns. Through a share pledge, Niu has a deemed interest in 21.7 million shares held by Jia and 13.3 million held by Cheng Meng, according to the 2024 annual report. Add his own 360,000 shares and his direct and deemed stake is 25.72%.

The takeaway: NutryFarm is out of court-supervised judicial management since February, but its shares have been suspended since April 2022. For traders, this is a governance fight with no active market to trade.