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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Cai Haoxiang
27 August 2015
The board of Catalist-listed LionGold Corp said the gold miner can operate as a going concern, in response to a Singapore Exchange (SGX) query on external auditor PwC’s disclaimer of opinion on the matter.
“The board confirms that all material disclosures have been provided for trading of the company’s shares to continue,” LionGold said.
The company will be seeking approval from shareholders on Sep 14 for the proposed issue of up to S$100 million of redeemable convertible bonds.
Referring SGX to notes in its recently published annual report, LionGold said the first tranche of S$50 million will be enough to repay its outstanding convertible bonds, which is being restructured. The tranche will also be enough to fund its operations for the foreseeable future, the notes said.
The notes also said that the ability to obtain shareholder approvals and the certainty of completion of the issuance of the first tranche represent a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.
“While a material uncertainty exists, the board believes that the group will be able to raise sufficient funds to enable the group to fund its operations for the foreseeable future,” LionGold said in the notes.
SGX also queried LionGold on the due diligence it performed on auditor Baker Tilly, whom LionGold is proposing to replace PwC with due to cost reasons and the company’s reduced scope of operations.
Among other things, LionGold said that the change in auditors was considered in December 2014 and January 2015, before PwC expressed its disclaimer of opinion.
LionGold closed trading at 1.4 Singapore cents, up 0.2 cent or 16.7 per cent, before its announcement.