SGX RegCo issues ‘trade with caution’ alert on 9R Limited
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
SGX RegCo’s review of trading activities showed that 85 per cent of buy trades of 9R Limited shares between June 4 and Nov 8 were from a few trading accounts.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
Benjamin Cher
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE – The Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) has urged investors to exercise caution when dealing with shares of 9R.
In a “trade with caution” alert on Nov 13, SGX RegCo noted that the price of 9R shares rose 48.7 per cent, or 1.9 cents, from 3.9 cents on June 4 to 5.8 cents on Aug 14. The counter was up despite the FTSE ST Catalist Index falling 5.38 points, or 3.2 per cent, during the same period.
The company would go on to announce its results for the first half of 2024 on Aug 14, where it recorded a loss for the period with negative cash flows from operating activities. Despite the negative results, 9R’s share price held steady at around 5.8 cents from Aug 15 to Nov 8.
A review of the trading activities between June 4 and Nov 8 showed that 85 per cent of buy trades of 9R shares were from a few trading accounts. SGX RegCo’s initial findings showed that multiple clients were behind each account, and most appear to be connected.
The review and monitoring of 9R shares will continue and SGX RegCo will take necessary actions, including referring the case to the authorities.
Shares of 9R, which operates family karaoke outlets in Malaysia as part of its business, closed at 5.6 cents on Nov 15.
Trade with caution alerts were first introduced in March 2014 to draw investors’ attention to unusual trading of a security, as well as to remind them that the trading activities were not the result of publicly known factors.
The alerts were automatically generated when any unusual trading activity of a share that could not be explained by publicly known factors was detected, triggering a query from the exchange to the company. If the company in its reply to SGX said it was not aware of reasons for the trading activities, SGX RegCo would issue a trade with caution alert.
In December 2015, trade with caution alerts were made more targeted and issued on a case-by-case basis, with the intent of providing higher-value information to investors.
Before 9R, a trade with caution alert was last issued on petrochemical company Sinostar Pec Holdings on Nov 9, 2023, when shares of the company rose by 144 per cent between Aug 14, 2023, and Aug 28, 2023. THE BUSINESS TIMES
Additional reporting by Kang Wan Chern
