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FROM THE WEST:

CityView Corp chief Mark Smyth has criticised what he calls “unsubstantiated gossip” on the internet for exacerbating the oil minnow’s woes as he prepares to face a push by shareholders to oust him at an extraordinary general meeting later this month.

Speaking via webcast in a Boardroomradio interview released to the Australian Securities Exchange yesterday, Mr Smyth hit out at those shareholders who, he said, wanted to blame “everyone except themselves” for the company’s performance.

“Shareholders are upset because the CityView share price is so low — indeed we are all concerned about this,” he said. “The reality is that all resource stocks worldwide have been affected by the crash and CityView is no exception.

“The situation is exacerbated by the negative chatter and unsubstantiated gossip on the internet, creating general confusion and uncertainty. Some of these groups mean well but others blame everyone except themselves for the current predicament.”

A group of shareholders, believed to represent about 11 per cent of CityView shares, requisitioned a meeting last month to have Mr Smyth removed from the board but remain in his role as chief executive.

Citing concerns about the company’s management, cash burn and the terms of a rights issue last year, they want, among other things, four new directors appointed to the board, including dissenting shareholders Susan Turner and Steven Coughlan, and for the company to formally outline its six-month strategy.

Much of the dispute has been played out on popular sharemarket gossip website HotCopper, where support for the extraordinary meeting was originally generated. The resolutions will be put to shareholders on January 30.

Shares in CityView have fallen 95 per cent in the past 12 months, from 28¢ in January 2008 to 1.4¢ yesterday. By comparison the market’s key S&P-ASX 200 index is down 41.5 per cent, although many explorers have been hit harder than the wider market.The group was also affected by several board resignations last year.

The one-time technology investment group was reborn in 2006 as an energy explorer focused on Angola and the west coast of Africa.

Commenting on calls by shareholders for greater disclosure about how CityView’s money has been spent, Mr Smyth said it was already hard to conduct business in Angola and would be even harder if rival players were given access to sensitive information.