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When Great Eastern announced late last Friday (Jan 24) that it had been granted yet another extension of time by the Singapore Exchange (SGX) to comply with the minimum free float rule, one of my colleagues joked: “Maybe two years from now, we’ll still be doing this.”

Great Eastern said in its announcement that it has been assessing various options to comply with the relevant listing rules, and that it now intends to appoint a financial adviser to explore “possible additional options”.

The insurer went on to say that it applied to SGX for more time as its 2024 annual report is likely to be published towards the end of March, and the information it contains could be useful in assessing the available options to comply with the minimum free float rule, including approaching OCBC for assistance.

The latest extension of time granted by SGX is for a period of four months, longer than the previous extensions of approximately three months. It expires on May 25 – about two weeks past the first anniversary of OCBC’s announcement of its offer for Great Eastern.

More importantly perhaps, the breathing room that Great Eastern and OCBC now have stretches beyond the likely dates of their upcoming annual general meetings (AGMs). Under Section 175 of the Companies Act, public-listed companies are required to hold their AGMs within four months of the end of their financial year.