http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6b5049fe-9a7b-11e4-8426-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3QYoT9FH4

Posted by SEAH Hui Ting, Year 3 undergrad at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University

The number of fraud cases coming to trial in the UK rose 25 per cent in 2014, driven by large numbers of investment scams . A total of £717m was lost to fraud in cases that came to court during the year, of which £216m went into fake investment schemes, the biggest single category, according to a twice-yearly fraud barometer survey by KPMG, a professional service firm. This compared with £168m the previous year. Continue reading →

http://basehitinvesting.com/buffetts-petrochina-investment-finding-large-gaps-between-price-value

Posted by Joel CHUA Yong Sheng, Year 3 undergrad at the School of Business, Singapore Management University

Joel: This article is about Warren Buffet’s investment in Petrochina, his thought process and due diligence when selecting in a stock to invest to avoid the lemons and frauds.

Buffett’s PetroChina Investment: Finding Large Gaps Between Price & Value

By John Huber On August 4, 2014 · 13 Comments

“You don’t have to know a man’s exact weight to know that he’s fat.” – Ben Graham

I was reading through some notes from the 2008 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting and one of the questions grabbed my attention. The question was pertaining to Warren Buffett’s decision to purchase stock in PetroChina back in 2002. Basically, the questioner was surprised that Buffett made such a sizable investment after a seemingly small amount of due diligence saying “all you did was read the annual report… Wouldn’t you want to do more research?”

Here is the question along with Buffett’s response: Continue reading →

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/vietnam-tycoon-nguyen-duc-kien-jailed-30-years-over-fraud-n126001

Posted by Joel CHUA Yong Sheng, Year 3 undergrad at the School of Business, Singapore Management University

Vietnam Tycoon Nguyen Duc Kien Jailed for 30 Years Over Fraud

HANOI, June 9 – A Vietnamese court jailed a tycoon and former banker for 30 years on Monday for his part in a series of elaborate financial scams worth $1.1 billion that have become one of the country’s most high-profile banking scandals.

Nguyen Duc Kien, 50, founder of Asia Commercial Bank , one of Vietnam’s largest private lenders, was found guilty of a litany of crimes along with seven co-conspirators who used “sophisticated and cunning tricks” to deprive depositors and companies of hundreds of millions of dollars. Continue reading →

Click to access LeeXiao.pdf

Posted by John SOH Yong Ye, Year 4 undergrad at the School of Economics, Singapore Management University

Chi-Wen Jevons Lee, Xing Xiao (November 2004)

Abstract：
Numerous findings in the literature suggest that paying cash dividend mitigates agency problem
between majority shareholders and minority shareholders. Many common law countries require
mandatory cash dividend policy to protect minority shareholder’s interest. This paper provides
opposite evidence. We find that state dominant firms in China have high propensity to pay cash
dividend but low propensity to subscribe rights offering. Furthermore, state dominant firms often
increase cash dividend payment soon after rights offerings. Continue reading →

http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2015/01/31/Public-consultation-should-be-more-transparent/?style=biz

Bursa Malaysia proposal on RPT advice is dropped without explanation

Saturday, 31 January 2015

BY: ERROL OH

SHOULDN’T we at least feel a bit nervous when there’s a loosening of the rules on related-party transactions (RPTs) involving listed companies? Can we afford to be more relaxed about the possibility of those controlling a company coming up with deals that hurt the interests of other shareholders?

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) once called abusive RPTs as “one of the biggest corporate governance challenges facing the Asian business landscape”. That was in a September 2009 report. Could it be that things are different now? Continue reading →

http://www.economist.com/news/business/21606838-company-accounts-detectives-collar-another-suspect-got-em-gotham

Posted by KOH Ngiap Hao , Year 4 undergrad at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University

The company-accounts detectives collar another suspect

JENARO GARCÍA was an eloquent cheerleader for Gowex, helping to propel the Spanish Wi-Fi firm to European startup stardom. When investors asked detailed financial questions of its founder and boss, however, he would clam up. Short-sellers, who bet against companies by selling borrowed shares, in the hope of buying them back more cheaply later, began to act on this reticence early this year. But the killer blow was a report by an opaque outfit called Gotham City Research, alleging that Gowex had far fewer wireless hotspots than it claimed and that 90% of its sales were bogus. On July 6th, five days after the report’s publication, the firm said it would file for bankruptcy and that Mr García (pictured) had resigned after admitting to fiddling the accounts for at least four years. Continue reading →