ASEAN Small Cap Fund fined for disclosure violations

January 20, 2015 | 13:00

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The State Securities Commission (SSC) issued its Decision No.31 on January 15, imposing a fine of VND60 million ($2,800) on the ASEAN Small Cap Fund (ASCF) for administrative violations in the stock market and securities trading.

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ASCF was said to have violated the securities trading regulations in the stock market when failing to report a change in share ownership. In particular, the company bought 47,400 Hong Ha Vietnam JSC (PHH) shares, boosting the share volume held by a group of investors including ASCF (holder of account CTBFCA5503) and David Peter O’Neil (holder of account 011FIA5615) from 1,401,900 to 1,449,300 PHH shares, an increase from 7.75 per cent to 8.01 per cent. The company, however, failed to register the change at the SSC and Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX).

ASCF is managed by Singapore-based ASEAN Investment Management and its chief investment officer (CIO) is the above mentioned David Peter O’Neil. The company has been in Vietnam since 2013 and targets small-cap companies. ASCF registered its address at 89 Nexus Way, Canada Bay, Grand Cayman KY1-9007, Cayman Islands.

ASCF is a major shareholder of many enterprises in Vietnam such as Song Da Thang Long (STL) and Song Da Infrastructure (SDH) and holds shares in APEC Securities (APS) and Vietnam Industrial and Commercial Securities (VIG).

By By Trang Nguyen

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