Joseph Sy leaves Global Ferronickel board
Joseph Sy, who has been facing legal woes over his citizenship, has stepped down as director of Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc. to prioritize the mining company’s best interests.
Global Ferronickel said the Sy made the decision “due to personal considerations and for the best interests of the company.”
“The company expresses its appreciation for Mr. Sy’s service and contributions during his tenure,” the firm said in a disclosure on Friday.
The mining firm said it would make appropriate disclosures should there be any updates.
Sought for additional details, Global Ferronickel president Dante Bravo said it is unclear whether or not Sy will divest his minority share in the listed firm.
“We have no information at the moment as to whether he will divest his minority stake in the company,” Bravo said in a message.
“As to the replacement of a director, the board will decide soon,” he added.
Sy directly owns 5.02 million shares or approximately 0.1 percent of Global Ferronickel’s outstanding shares as of Dec. 15.
Sy also has interests in certain corporations that are shareholders of Global Ferronickel. These may represent an indirect stake of about 5.73 percent.
“For the sake of argument only, even if Mr. Sy’s direct shareholdings were to be treated as foreign, the 40-percent foreign ownership limit applicable to mining companies would still not be exceeded,” Global Ferronickel earlier said.
Global Ferronickel’s foreign ownership stood at 29.04 percent as of Dec. 15.
“This is stated without prejudice and without conceding that such indirect interests are required to be aggregated for purposes of computing foreign ownership,” it added.
Sy has been under fire due to legal questions about his Filipino citizenship.
