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IT'S not often that the Singapore Exchange reverses a rule it deemed necessary just a few years back. On Thursday, Singapore's frontline market regulator conceded that the minimum trading price (MTP) rule for mainboard-listed companies should be scrapped. Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGXRegco) chief Tan Boon Gin did not consider the MTP a mistake, but he acknowledged market feedback that had highlighted its shortcomings. He said the MTP has been a "blunt tool" that created various "unintended consequences" for issuers and shareholders. Indeed, it is hard to see how the MTP rule - introduced in the wake of the October 2013 penny stock crash that wiped out billions of paper gains from Asiasons, Blumont and LionGold - has fulfilled its intended purpose of improving the quality of mainboard listings. Specifically, the thinking by SGX five years ago was that penny stocks are more prone to manipulation by syndicates, whereas "higher-priced...

THE Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) is formally looking at scrapping the minimum trading price (MTP) rule, confirming a report by The Business Times earlier this year. The move, coming more than three years after the rule was implemented, would affect the status of about 100 companies now languishing in the SGX watch list for falling short of the MTP of S$0.20 a share. Under the rules adopted in 2016 and then modified and effected the following year, a mainboard-listed company must maintain a six-month volume-weighted average share price of at least 20 Singapore cents, and a six-month average daily market capitalisation of at least S$40 million. Companies that do not meet these criteria are put on the SGX watch list. Once there, these firms have three years to raise both their share price and their market cap, failing which, they are delisted. Stay updated with BT newsletters The proposal to scrap the MTP has been put up for public consultation till Dec ...

The Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) is seeking public feedback on a proposal to scrap the minimum trading price (MTP) framework. The rules that were adopted in 2016 and then modified in 2017 state that a mainboard-listed company must maintain a six-month volume-weighted average share price of 20 cents and a six-month average daily market capitalisation of at least $40 million. Companies that do not fulfil the criteria go on a watch list. They then have three years to raise their share price and their market cap or face delisting. The proposal to scrap the MTP has been put up for public consultation until Dec 27 with a decision expected within the first half of 2020. In the meantime, a moratorium has been placed on the three-year period for delisting companies now on the watch list. There will also be no new entrants added to it. SGX data showed that 11 or so companies would have entered the watch list in the next review scheduled for early December. ...

SINGAPORE (Nov 25): A group of minority shareholders of Magnus Energy shot down all the resolutions put forward at the recent annual general meeting on Oct 30. They ousted three of the directors and blocked the reappointment of the external auditor as well as the mandate to issue shares to raise funds or pay director's fees. Now, this group of Magnus Energy’s minority shareholders — including its former managing director Charles Madhavan — are keen to press on. On Nov 7, these shareholders, who hold a total stake of about 10%, sent Magnus Energy’s board an extraordinary general meeting requisition notice. The potential boardroom tussle is adding a new twist to the company, which is already suffering from being linked to John Soh Chee Wen, one half of the alleged masterminds behind the 2013 penny stock crash. Soh is linked via Mid-con Group, (formerly known as Mid-Continent Equipment, the subject of a cornered stock operation), which was majority-held by Magnus Energy. ...

SINGAPORE (Oct 23): The defence counsels of John Soh Chee Wen and Quah Su-Ling in court on Wednesday clashed with state prosecutors over the “incomplete” disclosure of messages and data retrieved from three mobile phones believed to be linked to the manipulation of shares in the 2013 penny stock crash. Soh and Quah are the alleged masterminds behind the massive rise and sudden collapse of shares in Blumont Group, LionGold Corp and Asiasons Capital (now Attilan Group), which wiped out some $8 billion in market value. The prosecution in court on Wednesday presented evidence from three mobile phones: an Apple iPhone 4 belonging to Adeline Cheng Jo-Ee, a BlackBerry Q10 belonging to Ken Tai Chee Ming, and a Samsung Note 3 belonging to James Hong Gee Ho. Cheng has been described as Soh’s former romantic partner. Soh is also alleged to have controlled trading accounts belonging to Cheng, as well as two companies she and her father owned. Tai, a former broker-turned-prosecuti...

CHARLES Madhavan, one of the two activist shareholders instrumental in ousting Magnus Energy's chairman, two directors and independent auditor, wants to leverage on his network of experts and business partners in the oil and gas sector to resurrect the Catalist firm. At a recent interview with The Business Times, Mr Madhavan, 61, shared his frustrations, shock discoveries and plans if his team gains control of the board. Magnus is an investment holding company which derives nearly 70 per cent of its revenue from its 55 per cent stake in Mid-Continent Equipment Inc, an oil and and gas equipment distribution business in the US. Its share price has plummeted from 40 Singapore cents in October 2014 (before the start of the conversion of the convertible notes to shares) to as low as 0.1 Singapore cent before trading was suspended on Aug 23 following "the relentless issuance of convertible notes by the company and the subsequent conversion of those notes into shares". ...

SINGAPORE Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) has once again urged investors and potential investors to exercise caution when dealing in the shares of Mirach Energy, flagging that a small group of individuals were responsible for nearly 90 per cent of the buy volume of the stock for about a month. It first flagged its concerns on Sept 24, following which Mirach's share price fell, only to rise significantly again. Between Sept 25 and Nov 5, the share price shot up from 14 Singapore cents to a high of 37 cents. During that time, SGX RegCo queried Mirach on the unusual movements of its share price, first on Oct 18 and again on Nov 5. Both times, Mirach responded to say it was unaware of any information or possible explanation for the trading. That the unusual share trading in Mirach has "continued relatively unabated is of concern", SGX RegCo said on Tuesday after market close. It has determined that a single omnibus trading account - purportedly backed by fou...

SINGAPORE (Nov 5): Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) says it has referred the unusual trading of shares in mainboard-listed Mirach Energy to the authorities for their “necessary actions”. In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, the market regulator once again urged investors to exercise caution when dealing in the shares of Mirach. The warning comes shortly after SGX RegCo issued Mirach with its second query in the span of a month. The query, which was issued at 9.22am, was prompted by a 41% surge in the company’s share price to 36 cents just after market open on Tuesday. SGX RegCo notes that between Sept 25 and Nov 5, the share price of the company had risen from 14 cents to a high of 37 cents – denoting a surge of 164%. “Despite Mirach’s negative response to the query [on Oct 18], the share price of Mirach continued to climb. A second query was issued on Nov 5, but they have responded negatively to that as well,” says SGX RegCo. “That the unusual share tradin...