Wednesday 12th November 2014
Dear Reader,
Time for a bit of muck-raking.
NEW ARTICLE
Blowing the whistle on Sinoref (1020)
The latest deal
deserves attention from the SFC's corporate misconduct team. We also find
improbably high profit margins which have now collapsed, a big receivables
problem, and two changes of board, the latest after a character from our 2012
"Raking Muck" series reappears. (12-Nov-2014)
RECENTLY ON WEBB-SITE
C Y Leung on cartels and politics
YouTube, 3-Nov-2014
Delivery of
petition for HK democracy.
Webb-site has today delivered to the CE's
Office the petition with the first 2,114 signatures. The realistic and pragmatic
petition remains open for signature, so it is not too late to add your voice.
The CE has an opportunity to resolve the impasse over constitutional
development, move HK forward, and land on the right side of
history. (31-Oct-2014)
Broadly
representative of wealth
C Y Leung tells 3 media from democratic countries that the Nominating
Committee should be "broadly representative" of wealthy people, not the general
public, who would otherwise wreck the economy, and explains how he has to pander
to vested interests in the committee to get elected. Yet the lack of a popular
electoral mandate has resulted in populist handouts anyway, as well as wasteful
infrastructure spending to favour vested interests. Could a democratically
nominated and elected CE really be any worse? We also look ahead to what the
students should realistically be asking for tonight. (21-Oct-2014)
IN OTHER NEWS
Concentration warning in Sinogreen (1159)
SFC,
11-Nov-2014
Webb-site analysis: Sinogreen had net assets at
30-Jun-2014 of $24.1m and raised $164.4m from the issue of shares and
convertible bonds to a Macau junket operator on 19-Sep-2014, with an issue and
conversion price of $0.35. Upon full conversion, there will be 652,564,800
shares in issue, with a pro forma net asset value of $0.29 per share. The shares
trade at $13.00, or about 45 times NAV.
CITIC Tower and minibus & taxi associations v protesters in certain areas
HK Court of First Instance, 10-Nov-2014
Sidney Chau Foo Cheong v ICAC
HK Court of First
Instance, 10-Nov-2014
Mr Chau, former head of security at HK Airport,
succeeds in getting some documents back, claiming legal professional privilege.
HKSAR v Koo Sze Yiu & Ma Wan Ki
HK Court of
Final Appeal, 10-Nov-2014
The court says that the law against
desecrating the HKSAR flag (and by implication, the national flag) is still
constitutional, 15 years after the last test, as it is "necessary" to maintain
public order. On the other hand, the flag of the Communist Party is probably
fair game.
HKSAR v Pang Hung Fai
HK Court of Final Appeal,
10-Nov-2014
Mr Pang succeeds and his conviction for money-laundering
is quashed. The CFA holds that the list of grounds considered by the District
Court judge in determining that the defendant had "reasonable grounds to
believe" that the money was proceeds of an indictable offence was too narrow. It
failed to take account of the existing relationship of trust between Mr Pang and
Mr Kwok.
Court
dismisses judicial review against Takeovers Panel.
Disciplinary proceedings
SFC, 7-Nov-2014
Note: according to the SFC web site, there are 2 current disciplinary
proceedings, but only 1 of them involves 5 defendants, in relation to Pearl
Oriental Oil Ltd. Three of the defendants, Chairman Wong Yuk Kwan, Kitty Yip Sui
Kuen and Yik Siu Hung are facing criminal charges in an ICAC case.
A, B & C v SFC
HK Court of First Instance,
7-Nov-2014
The judicial review of the Chairperson's decision in
refusing a stay of the disciplinary proceedings under the Takeovers Code in the
Pearl Oriental Oil case involving Wong Yuk Kwan (A), Yik Siu Hung (B) and Kitty
Yip Sui Kuen (C). The judge finds that the Chairperson did not err in law and
her decision was not unreasonable.
Heritage (0412) sells loss-making TCM clinic
Company announcement, 5-Nov-2014
The purchaser is High Rhine Ltd, the
owner of which is not disclosed. On 12-Dec-2013, High Rhine Ltd was sold by Tack
Fiori (0928) to Equal Sky Ltd (BVI), which at least until 21-Apr-2010 was owned
by Willie (0273). So this may have been a sale to Willie.
Chris Patten testimony to Parliament, nearly 30 years after the joint
declaration (TV)
UK Parliament, 4-Nov-2014
MMT sets
date for Water Oasis’s former CEO hearing
SFC,
4-Nov-2014
SFC fines
Yue Siying, of UBS, HK$400k for negligence
SFC,
4-Nov-2014
SFC bans
Mr Leung Wai Hung, ex-Fulbright, for 18 months
SFC, 3-Nov-2014
PECS Register monthly update Part 1.
Part 2
HK Government, 31-Oct-2014
And much more besides...
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