The local authorities are finally getting serious about the problem of insider dealing in Hong Kong.
From the FT’s Tom Mitchell:
A Hong Kong court has handed down the territory’s first-ever criminal conviction for insider dealing, just months after the market regulator launched a crackdown on the practice.
Vicky Hung was given a suspended six-month prison term and fined more than HK$220,000 (US$28,205) after the court found she had dumped her shares in Sino Golf Holdings, a Hong Kong-listed company, armed with the inside knowledge that one of its largest debtors had filed for bankruptcy. In doing so, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission alleged that Ms Hung, finance manager for a Sino Golf subsidiary, had avoided a loss of HK$63,333.
Yesterday’s landmark conviction was the first since insider dealing was made a criminal offense in Hong Kong five years ago. However, the SFC has been making up for lost time, initiating three criminal insider-dealing cases over the past five months…