RM873m worth of corporate transactions terminated in 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: The Securities Commission of Malaysia’s surveillance activities deterred some RM873.5 million worth of corporate transactions identified to be detrimental to shareholders’ interests in 2017.
The SC’s Annual report 2017 revealed that suspicious corporate transactions with a total value of RM823.0 million were referred for further investigation for possible breach of securities laws.
The regulator said where swift response is necessary to preserve market integrity and minimise harm to investors, appropriate pre-emptive action will be taken.
"In 2017, we conducted a total of 86 engagements to reiterate the importance of discharging their fiduciary duties with care and ensuring quality disclosures," it said.
Meanwhile, the SC received 20 referrals on possible violations of securities law arising mainly from the commission’s active surveillance of market and corporate activities, as well as from information provided by local and foreign authorities.
Nearly half of the referrals related to possible market misconduct involved insider trading and market manipulation, followed by possible securities fraud and corporate governance breaches in relation to conduct of public listed company (PLC) directors and officers causing wrongful loss to the PLC.
The total number of active investigations as at Dec 31, 2017 stood at 52. A significant portion of resources was devoted to investigating possible insider trading violations, with a total of 29 insider trading cases still ongoing.
A total of 32 administrative sanctions were imposed by the SC for various misconducts and breaches of securities laws such as making false and misleading statement to the SC, breaches of licensing conditions and for late submission of documents under the Lodge and Launch Framework.
Sanctions imposed on the parties in breach comprised reprimands, revocation of licences and imposition of penalties, directives and moratoriums.
During the year, penalties totalling RM2.8 billion were imposed and 81 infringement notices were issued.