Two senior appointments to the board of Fraser and Neave (F&N) have triggered a market rethinking that controlling shareholder Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi may want the company to stay listed after all.

F&N, a property and beverage conglomerate, said yesterday that it has appointed food and beverage (F&B) veteran Koh Poh Tiong as adviser to the board and non‐independent, non‐executive director with immediate effect.

This came a day after F&N announced the appointment of former Singapore finance minister Richard Hu as senior adviser to the board. The high‐profile appointments were made amid questions about whether Mr Charoen, who holds more than 90 per cent of F&N's shares, wants to keep F&N listed. Listing rules require a free float of at least 10 per cent.

The Singapore Exchange has given F&N until April 18 to declare its listing intention.

Source: AmFraser