KUALA LUMPUR (Apr 28): Bina Puri Holdings Bhd (Bina Puri) has denied that it is linked in anyway to Utoken, a virtual currency issued by Utoken Reserve Ltd.

In a statement today, the group said it has never participated in the promotion of Utokens or other promotions under UFUN Group Ltd.

“Bina Puri reiterates that we are not linked at all with 'Utokens' and [have] never participated in any promotions of 'uTokens' or any other promotions by UFUN Group or companies related to UFUN,” it said.

It added that it has issued several reminders and taken actions to refrain UFUN from informing the latter’s members or customers that Bina Puri is a joint venture partner in the “Utokens” promotion.

Bina Puri (fundamental: 0.15; valuation: 2.0) issued the denial after receiving inquiries from the public and close associates following UFUN Group’s purchase, through UTR Holding Co Ltd (UTR), of 100 residential units in the Bangkok Marina Resort and Spa development.

The Bangkok Marina Resort Spa was developed by Bangkok Property Co Ltd (BPCL), a company in which Bina Puri’s associate Bina Puri Holdings (Thailand) Ltd has a 20% stake.

Bina Puri said UTR had initially expressed its interest to buy 300 residential units in the spa resort at US$50,000 per unit. The purchase did not materialise and BPCL eventually reserved only 100 units for sale to UTR.

Authorities in Thailand, meanwhile, are currently investigating UFUN’s purported Thailand branch, UFUN Thailand, for alleged fraudulent pyramid schemes, said Bina Puri.

Bina Puri said Bina Puri Thailand has rendered its full support and cooperation to the Thai authorities in their investigation.

“Bina Puri is confident with the process of the investigation and trust that it will be completed very soon, and that the freeze of our associate’s bank account will be removed to ensure our project’s development progress is not delayed or affected,” said Bina Puri group managing director Tan Sri Tee Hock Seng.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)