TWO former senior employees of UOB Kay Hian Private Limited (UOBKH) were charged on Wednesday for allegedly lying to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in relation to reports on a then Catalist aspirant. Lan Kang Ming, 38, and Wee Toon Lee, 34, each face three charges of providing MAS with false information in October 2018 in relation to due diligence reports on an unidentified company applying to list on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange. MAS said in a media statement on Wednesday that it was performing an onsite inspection of UOBKH between June and August 2018, to assess the latter's controls, policies and procedures in relation to its role as an issue manager for Initial Public Offering (IPOs). During the examination, Lan and Wee were said to have provided different versions of a due diligence report relating to background checks on a company applying to be listed on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange. UOBKH had acted as the issue manager
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AFP
10 April 2014
A company controlled by the family of Asia’s richest man Li Ka-shing has sold a landmark Beijing property for more than US$900 million, it said, adding to speculation he is cashing out of Chinese property.
Pacific Century Premium Developments - a firm chaired by Richard Li, the tycoon’s younger son - signed an agreement Tuesday to sell Pacific Century Place for US$928 million, the firm said in a statement filed with the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The deal is nearly 30 per cent lower than the asking price reported last year for the well-located Beijing property, made up of two office towers, two serviced apartment blocks and a shopping mall, China’s Dongfang Daily newspaper said Thursday.
The deal is the fourth Chinese property disposal by Li’s family since August, it said, adding that the sales have fetched a total of nearly 18 billion yuan (US$2.9 billion).
“Li’s investment strategy since 1970s shows that he will always sell his assets two to three years ahead of crises to reallocate (the resources),” the newspaper quoted an unnamed industry insider as saying.
Li has already sold properties in major Chinese cities including Guangzhou in the south and the financial hub of Shanghai.
Speculation that the Hong Kong-based 85-year-old was pulling out of China mounted so high that he met the press for 90 minutes in late February to emphasise his confidence in the country’s property market and its slowing but still strong economic growth.
China’s economy grew 7.7 per cent in 2013, the same as in 2012 - which was the slowest rate of expansion since 1999.
The world’s second-largest economy has shown signs of weakness recently with a string of disappointing indicators, including on trade, industrial production and consumer spending, raising further concerns about its health. - AFP