News

SEC Announces Insider Trading Charges Linked to China Tech Deal; SEC alleged two Beijing residents bought out-of-the-money call options before deal was announced

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http://www.wsj.com/articles/sec-announces-insider-trading-charges-linked-to-china-tech-deal-1430370540

SEC Announces Insider Trading Charges Linked to China Tech Deal; SEC alleged two Beijing residents bought out-of-the-money call options before deal was announced

NED LEVIN

April 30, 2015 1:09 a.m. ET

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced insider trading charges against two Beijing residents on Wednesday, alleging they purchased stock options ahead of Chinese e-commerce company 58.com’s purchase of a $1.6 billion minority stake in rival Ganji.com.

The regulator said a court had granted its request to freeze assets in the U.S. brokerage accounts of Xia Xiaoyu and Hu Yanting. The SEC alleged the two bought out-of-the-money call options, or bets that the stock price of a company will go up, in New York-listed 58.com after the deal was signed but before it was announced. The SEC said Mr. Xia and Ms. Hu had profited by more than $2 million through their purchase of the options. 58.com’s stock surged by 34% after it was initially reported that the two companies would agree to a deal. Continue reading →

Royal Bank of Canada denied allegations that it committed stock manipulation of SK Holdings to avoid paying high returns to investors five years ago. RBC alleged to intentionally sold SK shares 10 minutes before its ELS matured

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http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2015/04/488_177526.html
Updated : 2015-04-22 18:14

RBC denies stock manipulation allegation

By Kim Jae-won

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) denied allegations Wednesday that it committed stock manipulation to avoid paying high returns to investors five years ago.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court allowed two Korean investors to file a collective lawsuit against RBC over the Canadian investment bank’s management of equity-linked securities (ELS) in April 2009. Hannuri Law, a legal representative for the investors, argued that RBC intentionally sold some 70,000 shares of SK Holdings 10 minutes before its ELS matured. With this transaction, shares of SK Holdings closed at 119,000 won ($110), inflicting combined losses worth 3.26 billion won to 437 investors.  Continue reading →

68-yr-old ex-engineer held in Rs 85 cr ($13.5m) fraud case

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Ex-engineer-duped-people-of-Rs-85-crore-held-in-Delhi/articleshow/46926217.cms

http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/director-held-for-duping-investors-of-rs-85-cr-cops/

Ex-engineer duped people of Rs 85cr, held

15 April 2015

The Times of India – Delhi Edition

A 68-year-old retired engineer, who duped several investors on the pretext of trading through National Stock Exchange and other financial institutions and cheated them of around Rs 85 crore, has been arrested by the economic offences wing. Police said the accused, Ashok Kumar, a gold medalist from IIT Roorkee, had share trading companies Kassa Finvest Pvt Ltd and Kassa Holdings and Consultants Pvt Ltd. Continue reading →

Thin-film solar technology under scrutiny as China’s Hanergy soars; What Li Hejun didn’t say was that the 30 percent conversion efficiency ratio was a laboratory-based result that experts say is hard to replicate in projects

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/19/china-hanergy-technology-idUSL4N0XE2MH20150419

Sat Apr 18, 2015 10:30pm EDT

Thin-film solar technology under scrutiny as China’s Hanergy soars

HONG KONG, APRIL 19 | BY CHARLIE ZHU

(Reuters) – The green energy potential of thin-film solar panels has propelled Li Hejun to the top of China’s rich-list, but his Hanergy Holdings has yet to prove it can turn impressive laboratory research into commercially successful products. Hanergy Thin Film Power, a Hong Kong-listed unit, has seen its value soar six-fold in the past year to $37 billion – more than its nearest two dozen rivals combined. Hanergy and some analysts say the meteoric rise has been fuelled in part by Beijing’s efforts to promote solar energy. But some industry insiders say it has more to do with the firm’s own bullish proclamations on thin-film solar panels and the competitiveness of its products.

Some experts, including a Hanergy sales executive, say the firm’s products are not efficient or cheap enough and are far from ready to take any major market share from conventional panels made with crystalline silicons. Continue reading →

‘Absconding’ i-Core boss held at last

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Absconding-i-Core-boss-held-at-last/articleshow/46952152.cms

‘Absconding’ i-Core boss held at last

Dwaipayan Ghosh, TNN

 | Apr 17, 2015, 03.12AM IST

KOLKATA: The CID on Thursday arrested Anukul Maiti, chairman and managing director of the alleged Ponzi firm i-Core group, who was “absconding” since Saradha went bust two years ago.
Maiti, 52, was nabbed from Lords Bakery crossing on Prince Anwar Shah Road near South City mall, said CID. He is accused in a Rs 15 lakh cheating case registered on June 10 last year and also faces charges under Prize Chit and Money Circulation Banning Act. A court remanded him in 11 days’ police custody.  Continue reading →

China Junk Bonds Pose Most Risk Since ’04 on Credit-Quality Dips; Texhong Textile Group (2678 HK), developer Oceanwide Holdings (000046 CH) and Yingde Gases (2168 HK) had the highest amount of debt compared with their assets.

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  • Moody’s said on March 11 that 5.1 percent of the high-yield companies it scores in China had defaulted in 2014, higher than the 3.9 percent average default rate elsewhere in Asia. The ratings company downgraded Yingde Gases Group Co. by one step to Ba3 on Jan. 27, citing challenges in a weak steel industry. Yingde’s ratio of debt to assets increased to 53.6 percent at year end from 49.7 percent in 2013.
  • The latest 2014 filings showed Winsway and underground mall builder Renhe Commercial Holdings Co. didn’t earn enough in their normal course of business to pay interest on their borrowings. Texhong Textile Group Ltd., developer Oceanwide Holdings Co. and Yingde Gases had the highest amount of debt compared with their assets. Winsway is the midst of restructuring its debt to improve its financial situation, Beijing-based spokeswoman Laura Shi said by e-mail Monday. Officials at Yingde, Texhong and Renhe didn’t reply to e-mails and phone calls seeking comment.

Yingde Gases (2168 HK):

  • Other Receivables: RMB74.2m (FY09, 2.8% of current assets) to RMB282.9m (FY10) to RMB363.2M (FY11) to RMB530.6m (FY12) to RMB610.9m (FY13) to RMB969.4m (FY14, 26.3% of current assets)
  • Other non-current assets: RMB156m (FY09) to RMB1.2bn (FY14)
  • Gross Debt: RMB1.9bn (FY09) to RMB9.8bn (FY15)
  • OCF – Capex: RMB478m – RMB773m (FY09)  to RMB925m – RMB2.1bn (FY14)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-14/china-junk-bonds-pose-most-risk-since-04-on-credit-quality-dips

China Junk Bonds Pose Most Risk Since ’04 on Credit-Quality Dips

byDavid YongChristopher LangnerLianting Tu

April 14, 2015

Investors in Chinese junk bonds are taking the biggest gamble in at least a decade.

Leverage for speculative-grade Chinese companies is at its highest since at least 2004, whether measured by earnings relative to interest expense or total debt to a measure of cash-flow, according to data compiled by Bloomberg using a Bank of America Merrill Lynch index. Borrowers have also piled on the most debt relative to their assets since 2007. Continue reading →

Thailand: Bounty and gratuity regulations on insider trading and market manipulation offenders to become effective on 16 April 2015

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http://www.sec.or.th/en/Pages/News/Detail_News.aspx?tg=NEWS&lg=en&news_no=43&news_yy=2015

Thailand: Bounty and gratuity regulations to become effective on 16 April 2015

10 April 2015

Thai News Service

Section: Business News – The Capital Market Supervisory Board approved regulations on payment of bounty to the informer as well as payment of gratuity to the arrestor in cases where fine is imposed on insider trading and market manipulation offenders under Sections 241 and 243 of the Securities and Exchange Act B.E. 2535 (1992). The bounty and gratuity will be paid in the amount up to 30% of the fine paid to the court or as ordered by the Settlement Committee. Continue reading →

‘Price Waterhouse Partners connived with Satyam’s founders’

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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/consultancy-/-audit/pricewaterhouse-partners-connived-with-companys-founders-cbi-court/articleshow/46901569.cms

‘Price Waterhouse Partners connived with company’s founders’

  1. R. Sukumar

14 April 2015

The Times of India

HYDERABAD: The trial court of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in India’s largest accounting fraud at Satyam Computer has construed that the two former partners of audit firm PriceWaterhouse had `connived’ with the software outsourcer’s founders in fudging accounts, a claim the audit firm continues to contest. Continue reading →

Accounting-Driven Class Actions Rising: Twenty of the accounting-related class actions included allegations of improper revenue recognition, PwC finds

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http://ww2.cfo.com/legal/2015/04/accounting-driven-class-actions-rising-study-finds/

Accounting-Driven Class Actions Rising, Study Finds

Twenty of the accounting-related class actions included allegations of improper revenue recognition, PwC finds

Katie Kuehner-Hebert

April 10, 2015 | CFO.com | US

Now that securities litigation related to the 2008 financial crisis has largely petered out, accounting-driven class-action suits based on regulatory enforcement actions are on the rise, according to PwC’s 2014 Securities Litigation Study released Friday. There were 53 accounting-driven cases filed last year, representing 31% of all federal securities class-action cases filed during the year, according to the report. In 2013, 46 cases were filed, representing 29% of all cases that year. PwC tracks U.S. federal securities class-actions filed since the passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act in 1995.

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PCAOB Preparing New Rule for Audits of Accounting Estimates

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http://ww2.cfo.com/auditing/2015/04/pcaob-preparing-new-rule-audits-accounting-estimates/

https://tax.thomsonreuters.com/media-resources/news-media-resources/checkpoint-news/daily-newsstand/proposal-may-issued-address-auditors-responsibility-accounting-estimates/

PCAOB Preparing New Rule for Audits of Accounting Estimates; The PCAOB staff plans to discuss auditors’ responsibilities for accounting estimates with the Standing Advisory Group in June.

Matthew Heller

April 9, 2015 | CFO.com | US

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is moving closer to proposing a comprehensive new standard for audits of accounting estimates in financial statements. Thomson Reuters reports that according to the standard-setting agenda the board updated on March 31, PCAOB staff is planning to discuss auditors’ responsibilities for accounting estimates with the Standing Advisory Group in June.

Continue reading →