Metech sells electronics recycling business

The board of directors of Singapore-based Metech International Ltd. has announced plans to sell its electronic scrap business (EWM) to a company called Belle Forte Ltd., based in the British Virgin Islands, and Wah Len Andrew. The decision to sell the assets was made in the third quarter of 2018.

The Metech assets being sold include six locations: five in the United States and one in Singapore. The company also is applying for licenses to operate another electronic scrap facility in Malaysia.

In August, Metech reported revenue for the EWM business declined 11.3 percent from the prior year, while profits dropped from $4.6 million in 2017 to a loss of $600,000. In addition, Metech’s management says the electronics recycling group has not been able to secure the relevant licenses from the various Malaysian authorities for its proposed new processing facility in Penang, Malaysia.

The group also is faced with challenges posed by hazardous waste control laws at its facilities in the United States, especially its Gilroy, California, location. With the above concerns and environmental issues, Metech says it found it difficult to continue to operate the EWM business in a sustainable manner.

“The challenging operating environment and the future prospect of the EWM business would be best served by maintaining very substantial capital investments in addition to a high level of working capital in the EWM business,” states the firm.