In a filing with Bursa today, BLand announced it received the decision in a letter dated March 31.

BLand had previously asked for another six-month extension, giving the group until Sept 22 to comply with the public spread requirements.

In September last year, Bursa granted BLand a six-month extension to comply with its public shareholding requirement, pushing the deadline to March 22.

“As at March 31, 2023, the company’s public shareholding spread had increased from 12.26% as at Feb 22, 2023 to 13.76%, representing a shortfall of about 6.24% equivalent to about 307 million shares,” it said in a filing.

Bursa has directed BLand to rectify the shortfall of its public spread on or before Sept 30.

In view that the extension of time to Sept 22 was not approved by Bursa, the bourse may take or impose any type of action or penalty pursuant to Paragraphs 16.02 and 16.19 of the Main Market Listing Requirements of Bursa.

Just last week, founder of Berjaya Corporation (BCorp) Vincent Tan  disposed of 3.83 million shares in BLand via Berjaya Bright Sdn Bhd.

This saw his deemed interest fall to 245.87 million shares or 4.997%, while his direct stake remained at 58.75 million or 1.194%.

Earlier this year on Jan 25, Tan’s total stake in BCorp fell below 20%. As a result, the conglomerate’s shareholding in BLand was no longer considered as his deemed interest.

At end-March, Tan directly held a 7.51% stake in BCorp, and an indirect stake of 9.3%.

At the close of trade today, BLand’s shares were unchanged at 27 sen, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM1.35 billion.