By Zinnia B. Dela Peña (The Philippine
Star) | Updated March 17, 2014 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The Securities
and Exchange Commission is investigating Alphaland Corp. of former trade and
industry minister Roberto V. Ongpin for possible violation of the Securities
Regulation Code.
The move follows the delisting process
initiated by the Philippine Stock Exchange against Alphaland for repeated violations of the listing and
disclosure rules of the PSE.
SEC commissioner Juanita Cueto said
the corporate watchdog is also conducting its own investigation into Alphaland,
whose shares remain suspended from trading since Jan. 20 this year.
Cueto said an initial report has
already been submitted by an SEC unit to the Commission but declined to give
details pending completion of the investigation.
Under Sec. 5 of the SRC, the SEC has
among others the authority to approve, reject, suspend and revoke registration
and licensing applications as well as to regulate, investigate the activities
of persons and companies under its jurisdiction.
The SEC is also empowered to impose
sanctions for the violation of the SRC, Corporation Code, the Investment Houses
Law and Financing Co. Act.
The PSE has begun the process to
remove Alphaland from its roster of listed stocks to safeguard the interest of
the investing public.
Under the PSE rules, delisting is the
maximum penalty imposed by the exchange imposed on an erring company.
Among the grounds cited by the PSE for
striking Alphaland off the register of listed companies are “repeated failure
to submit full, fair, accurate and timely disclosures of material information.”
These violations, the PSE said,
occurred in the course of the disclosure of the alleged “simulated” sale of
Alphaland shares between UK-based investment fund Ashmore Group and Credit
Suisse (Singapore), cases involving the company and its state of financial
distress and its representation of its conduct of a stock rights offering which
it later described as a “minority offering.”
For the “minority offering”
transaction, the PSE said Alphaland disclosed it tapped Unicapital Securities
Inc. as its underwriter when in fact, as Alphaland itself admitted, there was
no signed agreement to confirm their engagement.
Unicapital Securities categorically
denied having participated and consented to the
“minority offering.”
Alphaland’s actions “show a pattern of deliberate, conscious and
willful intent to mislead the exchange and the investing public,” the PSE said.
“Investors are put to risk when
companies do not follow our rules and it is for this reason that we must at all
times enforce these to maintain a fair and orderly market. The PSE would like
to ensure the public that we are steadfast in the application of these rules
and mindful always of the interest of the investing public,” Hans B. Sicat,
president and CEO of the PSE said.
_____________________________________________________________
