Sias says it is "concerned" with the trading activity of CEFC International

SINGAPORE - The Securities Investors Association of Singapore (Sias) said on Tuesday it is concerned with the trading activity of fuel trader CEFC International, which was issued with a "Trade with Caution" advisory by the Singapore Exchange on July 21.

Sias noted "unusual trading activity" of the shares - CEFC shares have risen from 2.5 cents to July 7 to an intraday high of 40.5 cents on Aug 14 - "without any fundamental change in the company's business."

"This should have been a concern or a red flag for the investors."

CEFC announced on July 7 it was in discussions with potential joint ventures to acquire equity interest in a company which owns a floating storage tank, but it said no binding agreements were entered into.

SGX has been querying the CEFC on its trading activity, to which CEFC said it was not aware of any information not previously announced that could explain the trading.

CEFC has also disclosed the shareholding statistics and the percentage of shareholdings held in public hands.

SGX subsequently highlighted that only a small number of offshore accounts accounted for 40 per cent of the recent buying of CEFC shares.

"The persistent and nature of queries by SGX is a good development for the investors and the market. Sias sees this development as a good benchmark for companies which may be in a similar predicament," said Sias founder, president and chief executive David Gerald.

CEFC shares closed down 2.5 cents to 34 cents on Tuesday.

wrennie@sph.com.sg

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