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08 October 2020 : Court of Appeal of Singapore rules against GLH, liable for damages of roughly US$70 million (approximately THB 2,187 million)

Court of Appeal of Singapore rules against GLH, liable for damages of roughly US$70 million (approximately THB 2,187 million)

08 Oct 2020

Mr. Tatsuya Konoshita, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lease Public Company Limited, stated “In December 2017, JTrust Asia “JTA” filed a civil lawsuit against Group Lease Holdings “GLH” (our Singapore entity) alleging GLH committed torts of deceit and conspiracy to misrepresent the financial position of Group Lease “GL” to entice JTA to invest into GL and seeking around US$230 million or roughly THB 7,183 million in damages. On 12 February 2020, the High Court of Singapore dismissed JTA’s claims against all defendants and ordered JTA to pay the costs of the defendants including GLH.

Yesterday the Court of Appeal of Singapore revised the judgment of the High Court and rendered the decision granting JTA’s claims partially and ruling that GLH and other defendants are jointly and severally liable for damages amounting to around US$70 million or roughly THB 2,187 million, approximately only 30% of what JTA had claimed. The remaining 70% of JTA’s claim (or about US$160 million or roughly THB 5,656 million including damages allegedly concerning second convertible debentures in the amount of US$130 million (approximately THB 4,060 million)) was rejected by the Court of Appeal.

Most of the damages awarded, US$49 million (approximately THB 1,527 million), relate to the US$50 million convertible debentures that was due to JTA in March 2020 but that we, GL, withheld as discussed in a previous press release. Please refer to the link below:

https://investor.grouplease.international/news.html/id/790125/group/home

For this judgement, although we have the ability to repay, we still have ongoing litigation in Thailand including JTA’s appeal of the 5 March 2020 judgement where the Civil Court in Thailand ruled that that JTA’s filing of the rehabilitation petition against GL constituted the tort of abuse of process. That Court ruled that JTA’s actions caused damages and ordered JTA to pay THB 685.5 million to GL. Additionally, on 11 September 2020, GL filed a civil claim against JTA claiming THB 9,130 million in damages for JTA’s continued abuse of legal process in Thailand and other jurisdictions. Please refer to the link below:

https://investor.grouplease.international/news.html/id/798626/group/home

We will continue to fight for our shareholders and protect our business.”

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SET Announcements

07 October 2020 : The Decision of the Court of Appeal of the Republic of Singapore regarding litigation between J Trust Asia Pte. Ltd and Group Lease Holdings Pte. Ltd.

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SET Announcements

07 October 2020 : The Decision of the Court of Appeal of the Republic of Singapore regarding litigation between J Trust Asia Pte. Ltd and Group Lease Holdings Pte. Ltd. (revised attachment)

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SET Announcements

01 October 2020 : Opportunity for shareholders to propose the AGM 2021 agenda and nominate qualified candidate as Company’s Director

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SET Announcements

29 September 2020 : Notification of the result of Appeal Court on the Business Rehabilitation Case of Group Lease Public Company Limited

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Press Releases

29 September 2020 : The Court of Appeal for Specialized Cases (Bankruptcy Division) upheld the decision to dismiss the rehabilitation petition submitted by JTA against GL. The decision is final

The Court of Appeal for Specialized Cases (Bankruptcy Division) upheld the decision to dismiss the rehabilitation petition submitted by JTA against GL. The decision is final

29 Sep 2020

Mr. Alain Dufes, Chief Financial Officer of Group Lease Public Company Limited, revealed that “on 29 September 2020, the Central Bankruptcy Court read the Court of Appeal for Specialized Cases (Bankruptcy Division) (“CASC”)’s Judgment. The CASC, in favor of GL, upheld the Central Bankruptcy Court’s decision to dismiss the rehabilitation petition submitted by JTA against GL.”

Mr. Tatsuya Konoshita, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lease Public Company Limited, stated, “we are pleased the Court has given final clarity on this case and found that GL’s robust business does not need rehabilitation. The consecutive three dismissals of JTA’s claims is a strong indication that the Court, at multiple levels, rejected JTA’s arguments.

Our strong belief that JTA’s argument were invalid led us to previously sue JTA for their bad faith legal actions, which on 5 March 2020, the Thai Civil Court agreed with our claim and ordered JTA to pay THB 685.5 million to GL. However, that claim was only for the period of 10 January 2018 to 19 March 2018 during the first automatic stay brought about by JTA’s conduct. Since then, as shown by today’s ruling, JTA continued its abusive court actions against GL.

As a response, earlier this month, GL filed a civil claim seeking 9,130 million baht in damages and legal expenses for JTA’s bad faith legal actions for the period of 20 March 2018 to 11 September 2020. GL is thankful for the Court’s conclusion and we hope this judgement persuades JTA to abandon their bad faith legal strategy.”

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Press Releases

18 September 2020 : Group Lease Public Company Limited seeks 9,130 million baht in damages from JTA and Directors in Thailand

Group Lease Public Company Limited seeks 9,130 million baht in damages from JTA and Directors in Thailand

18 Sep 2020

Mr. Alain Dufes, Chief Financial Officer of Group Lease Public Company Limited, revealed “on 11 September 2020, GL filed a civil claim against JTrust Asia Pte Ltd. (“JTA”) in Thailand seeking 9,130 million baht (roughly $292 million) in damages. This claim is similar to the previous civil claim we won on 5 March 2020 where the Court ruled that JTA was guilty of abuse of process in regards to the rehabilitation petition against GL in Thailand. In that case, the Court ruled that JTA’s actions caused damages and ordered JTA to pay 685.5 million baht, including lawyer fees, to GL as of 5 March 2020.

The damages awarded to GL on 5 March 2020 related to the automatic stay period from 10 January 2018 to 19 March 2018—a total of 68 days plus litigation costs. However, JTA continued to commit wrongful acts against GL even after 19 March 2018. JTA did not accept the Bankruptcy Court’s 19 March 2018 ruling and appealed shortly after. As a result, the Central Bankruptcy Court again reviewed the case which resulted in another and even longer automatic stay for GL, which eventually the Court again dismissed JTA’s claims in favor of GL. Still, JTA refused to accept the Court’s conclusion and appealed. These JTA actions and other legal actions by JTA against GL in Thailand and against GL’s subsidiary in Singapore have caused damages in GL continuously. Further, it turned out that these JTA actions have been decided and instructed by JTrust Co., Ltd. (“JTrust”), JTA’s parent company, and two directors, thus GL has now claimed in this civil case against JTrust and the directors as well.”

Mr. Tatsuya Konoshita, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lease Public Company Limited, stated, “as long as JTrust and their companies continue its bad faith legal strategy and using the courts as its instrument to harm GL, then GL will continue to seek compensation for that damage. The claim filed 11 September 2020 and court fees paid on 17 September 2020, covers the period from 20 March 2018 to 11 September 2020. Since the court in Thailand previously awarded GL 10 million baht per day in damages for JTA’s actions, GL is seeking 9,070 million baht in damage plus 60 million baht for legal fees for a total of 9,130 million baht.”

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SET Announcements

17 September 2020 : The Proceeding of Civil Case of Group Lease Public Company Limited Against J Trust Co. Ltd. and other 3 defendants

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SET Announcements

18 August 2020 : Announcement of the Additional Holiday for 2020

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Press Releases

18 August 2020 : Group Lease Public Company Limited reports net profit of 55.05 million baht

Group Lease Public Company Limited reports net profit of 55.05 million baht

18 Aug 2020

Group Lease Public Company Limited reported 2Q2020 net profit of 55.05 million baht. The Company will continue its smart growth strategy as core business operations remain profitable

Mr. Alain Dufes, Chief Financial Officer of Group Lease Public Company Limited, revealed “the Company recorded profit of 55.05 million baht in 2Q2020 as we reduced operating and financing costs by more than 75 million baht compared to 2Q2019. Unfortunately, we still had 21 million baht in legal expenses, but this is a decline compared to last year and last quarter. The largest issue for this quarter was Covid-19 and the lockdowns that occurred in Thailand and across the world. The situation also impacted our ability to generate new sales during the quarter as the lockdown and reduced business activity resulted in a sharp decline in April sales, which have since overall mostly recovered. April was also the toughest month for us in terms of collecting payment, however we collected much better than we expected and collection has been improving since April. Overall during this quarter, collection was much better than anticipated. In Thailand, we have approved nearly 10,000 interest moratoriums as we try to help our customers during this time.

Outside Thailand, we continue to focus on microfinance lending in Myanmar which was flat during this time—though income from group loans is up 3% compared to last year mostly due to foreign exchange. While we have come to expect high growth in Myanmar, they did have a long lockdown due to the virus which reduced our ability to meet new customers. We expect growth to soon resume to our normal high levels.

While some factors are out of our control, our more efficient business operations are improving business performance and resulting in a profitable GL even during this period.

Mr. Tatsuya Konoshita, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lease Public Company Limited, stated, “thankfully we spent the last few years becoming more efficient and only just before Covid-19 did we restart growth. While Covid-19 delayed our growth this quarter, now that we understand the situation better, we are looking forward to restarting smart growth again and taking advantage of the large amount of cash we have—more than 3.1 billion baht.

One of the ways we began our efficient, smart growth was by offering “Service at Home” to our Motor for Cash and Car for Cash customers. Instead of having customers come to our branch, our team would go to their home, inspect the vehicle, and complete all tasks there. This was launched in the second half of last year and has continued to be popular as many customers prefer to do business at their home. Thanks to initiatives such as this, we disbursed more Motor for Cash product in June this year than we did in June last year. It really shows what a terrific job our team has been doing.

We had a profitable quarter and look forward to delivering many more for our shareholders.”